


Father of a Thief

by Nox_of_Lemuria



Category: Child of Light (Video Game)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Multi, Mystery, POV Third Person Omniscient, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 55,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nox_of_Lemuria/pseuds/Nox_of_Lemuria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prior to the events of Child of Light were the enigmatic events known as The Hollow Pact and The Rift. What happened that caused Lemuria to be severed from our plane of existence and what became of the characters involved? (Story 1 of Perfect Sonnet)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lindworm and Capilli

Lemuria is a world that is known only to a few people. It wasn’t always that way though, well into the 1300s it was simply just another continent; settled by Four Explorers; Mathildis, Erin, Rambert, and Cynbel. Taming the lands the four of them discovered forces that could only be compared to what we know as magic, and many magical beasts resided there as well. Gryphons soared the skies and great sea Lindworms resided within the depths of the ocean. It was this land that gave many European countries their magical lore as the beasts and powers within Lemuria were free to wander and mingle with the nearby continent. Lemuria flourished, for many centuries it seemed that the elemental magic it contained would be brought to other lands too.

Until one day it completely vanished.

Stories were still told, but as the Middle Ages and fear wrought Europe, magic was stamped out and all fantastic beasts eradicated. Lemuria for all intents and purposes, never existed, and fantasy was now only found in literature.

Lemuria continued to exist unknownst to the rest of humanity however. But like anything that was cut off from the source, it was beginning to slowly crumble inside out. What was once a land filled with bustling cities and vibrant promises whittled away century by century. Its descent was quickened as its ruler one day vanished without a trace and shortly after, a blight of darkness encompassed the land.

But there’s a good chance you already know that story.

However, a story that has been lost to time, much like everything else, was just how Lemuria broke off from our world and the events prior. The Hollow Pact and The Rift are but whispers to historians that have heard rumors of this fantastic world. But what were they, and how did these events carve out future incidents within Lemuria and its slow climb back to grandeur?

The story starts with four heroes; the Heir to a Throne, a Traveling Jack of Trades, a Grey Dragon, and the Father of a Thief.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nereida Isle was a place for those who preferred to stay out of Lemurian affairs. It was here that only the most hardy and reclusive decided to call home. Most of the island was covered in deep forests with rocky sandbars along its coast. It was usually besieged by gentle rain that would readily give way to the sun and then go back to drizzling at a moments notice. The only settlement was a shore side village constructed from hides and other tarps the islanders fashioned. In one such abode, someone was deep in concentration with his work.

There was a breathless silence as the man toiled away with the knife and bone in his hands. After a few tense moments his hands relaxed as he found his rhythm and the bone he whittled started to form into that of a fishing hook. He began to hum to himself. Looking over his work the weathered man smirked and let a finger tip press against the hook- a cold kiss of pain told him that the hook was sharp enough to pierce flesh.

“Good enough for now at least, all we’re doing today is catching regular game after all- well, you anyway.” His voice was deep and throaty; one could almost describe it as what the ocean might sound like.

“You know that I hate fish Knarl,” a drawling voice lamented from the other side of the hut. The voice belonged to a Capilli; a mage race to the far west from where Knarl’s people lived. A red hued light that emanated from the bulb resting on her head pulsed for a moment and there was annoyance in her mannerisms that made it obvious that Knarl would be catching dinner exclusively for his family and not for his friend.

“Jake, when you live next to the ocean, one of your greatest providers happens to _be_ the ocean,” he stressed and his smile was even more evident at seeing the stubbornness of the mage, “it’s rather hard to be picky here. Then again what to they really offer in the Mathildis Forest anyway? Berries and Mint?” there was a bellowing laugh as he started to work on another hook.

Jake turned her nose up at Knarl’s jab and huffed, “There’s plenty more than that you overgrown Lindworm, but either way, are you honestly going to go catch yourself a lunker, with those little hooks?”

“Of course I will, but these hooks are for you. You know how I prefer to hunt,” he rolled his shoulder as he deftly finished another one, “you’ll see just how much we can catch in an hour.” The scales that adorned his belt gave a faint jangle as he stood up and eyed the only two hooks he had made. “I know you’re not a fan of fish, but I hope that you can join me for the boat ride and amuse yourself with these.” He tossed the hooks to her.

“Now you’re just being a clown.” she hopped to her feet; comically only reaching the seaman’s waist given her race’s height.

“I’m no Aerostrati Jake; I’m competent at least.” He laughed once more and Jake swore she could feel his mirthful chortle echo throughout the home and in her very being. “Joking aside, let’s get some fresh air before heading out to sea.”

Jake rolled her eyes but a smile graced her lips as she pulled the tarp that functioned as the door aside and let the murky noon sun shine through. Motioning with a sleeved hand to her companion the Capilli shuffled ahead of him and basked in the rare sunshine that graced the coastline.

Standing outside one could catch a contrasting sight. In many ways, Jake was built like the average Capilli; short in stature and covered in many layers of thick clothing. Her mouse brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and fastened together in her people’s usual style. The reds of her outfit complimented the anglerfish bulb that had dimmed its red light now that they were outside. Unlike other Capilli though, Jake wore ranger gear in the form of worn leather shoes and gloves- the latter clinking with various magic charms she had for any antagonistic encounters in the forest.

Knarl on the other hand made up for all the height that Jake lacked. At a towering seven feet the dark skinned man was built lean and strong for the ocean life he toiled in. The sun and ocean sea spray had withered his face and the career of a fisherman calloused his hands; which were now holding a majestic spear with a single black pearl inlayed into it’s hard wood. His hair was cut short and was as white as the breaking foam of the sea. His outfit was more practical than the get up of his friend; a loose white shirt with knee cut shorts and a belt covered in various fish scales. Save for a silver anklet his feet were bare.

“We have good visibility today, that should make for an excellent time out in the ocean.” Knarl shielded his darkened eyes against the beaming sun and his cheeky smile lessened to one of relief as earlier they had sought shelter from a drizzle. The gentle thud of Jake’s elbow hit his knee and knocked him out of his musings.

“Speaking of visibility, I see something clearly _visible_ right down there.” She pointed downward whilst speaking in a hushed tone. It was evident why she was being so quiet as a few rocks down near the shore there was a giant lengthy figure.

Upon closer inspection the shape was that of a large, aquatic dragon with an ivory hide. The pointed horns that adorned its head rose and fell gently as it breathed steadily; the beast was sound asleep. The many tentacle-like limbs that belonged to it were curled up amongst the rocks and beneath it’s crocodilian head as a makeshift sleeping spot amongst the rough ground. As luck would have it, the dragon was sleeping right between the two friends and the boat that had been run ashore against the beach. Knarl let out a smug “hmph” before carefully threading over to the sleeping form.

Jake shook her head and motioned with her arms in a manner to tell the man to not go any farther. Biting her lip she mouthed, “Remember what happened last time?” and shook her head frantically again.

The seaman raised his eyebrows in jest and with his free hand began to rub the snout of the dragon. Jake tensed up even more and looked akin to a statue as Knarl moved his hand down and began to tickle the dragon’s nostril. The ivory beast cringed in its sleep and stirred a little which only goaded Knarl to keep harassing it. He looked over at Jake with a cheeky fanged grin that was more suitable for a prankster bound child before he was knocked onto his rear by the dragon giving a tremendous snort; it had finally woken and had enough of being toyed with.

Instead of scrambling to get his weapon though, Knarl only gave out a bellowing laugh as he got to his feet and crouched down next to the annoyed serpent. He continued to go about rubbing its scrunched up snout while it gave him a dirty look.

“I was having a very nice time sleeping,” the dragon uttered but leaned into Knarls affectionate rubbing, ”are you already going out today?” the voice was deep, yet had a feminine hint to it.

“Yes I am, I need to make sure my wife eats healthy these next few days after all,” he looked out to the ocean and watched the waves swell and fall, “usually it’s just you and me, but there’s an egg on the way. So I’ll be having to resort to old hunting skills today.”

“Good on you, I was beginning to think you and Jake would never leave the house once it started raining; you know how she tries to duck out of getting work done at every possible chance.”

“Oi! You lovebirds down there, I can hear you!” Jake shouted and stumbled down to the two in a clumsy manner, “Don’t blame me if you accidentally sneeze your husband right into the drink like you did that one time Tethys.”

Tethys’s mouth went slack jawed and she let out a roar one could fathom as a laugh. She stretched her neck out and nuzzled the man who true to Jake’s earlier insult was indeed a Lindworm. Without a another word Knarl gave her a peck back and did an about face – a dark aura emanated from his body as he ran out to the shoreline and threw his spear into the sand. He kept running until the water was too high and swam out; soon disappearing amongst the waves.

There was a crash of water as a dragon almost exactly like Tethys in appearance save for his hardened horns and spiny back breached the surface and roared. Shaking the water from his eyes Knarl turned back to see Jake tossing his trusty spear into the boat and urgently pushing it out to sea before throwing herself in. Knarl used one of his many limbs to grab the boat and pull it past the current to where he rested.

“Must you be theatrical about everything?” the Capilli hoisted up the spear to get her footing in the boat, “you’re going to get us both into trouble some day.”

“Some day, but not today anyway.” He winked down at her and let the suction cups on the limb attached to the boat as to provide a line between him and his friend. The Lindworm dragon started to swim off into deeper water where the bigger game would be hiding, but he hoped they wouldn’t have to travel so far with the rains earlier. Rain always meant that the feeder fish were out in full force, which usually meant the bigger ones weren’t too far behind. Soon the waves died down and they were in deeper ocean, with only a few stark rocky cliffs jutting out of the sea for their landmarks.

Jake rested back in the stern of the boat as Knarl more or less was the autopilot for most of their journey. While he would do the big game fishing, she would organize whatever they caught to maximize space. Normally she would sell whatever excess they had and reap the rewards, but for this voyage and the ones following this week everything would be going towards Tethys’s voracious appetite.

“If anything, lets hope that some of these fish swallowed some occuli or gold so we can make some kind of revenue at least.” Jake called out over the roar of the sea.

“What, is being my child’s Godmother not enough payment?” was the cheeky answer she got before he detached his arm from the boat and submerged beneath the waves to hunt. Jake groaned from the relentless quips of humor made by the Lindworm and decided to amuse herself while waiting for his return. Taking one of the fishhooks given to her Jake magicked a stick into existence and with a leather string from her glove fastened the hook to the end. Sticking a glowing charm right above the hook she cast her line out and reclined back.

The winds were calm at least; that meant the rain wouldn’t come back just yet. The lazy sun provided Jake with all the comforting warmth she needed as she mused over her journey to Nereida Isle earlier in the week.

She had been traveling through Mathildis Forest and had escorted several lost pilgrims (for a nice amount of coin minded) to the Monastery where one could worship the Explorer whom the forest was named after. It seemed lately that many citizens of Lemuria had been making pilgrimages across the land to the four ruins that paid respect to the Four Explorers of Old. But there had been rumors that the Palace of the Sun had been barred from entry several times for unknown reasons. There was talk in the Central City that Luna, the descendant of Cynbel had become more reclusive, although whatever that meant was none of Jake’s business. As long as she could make a living charging duffers for her charms and “acts of kindness” of saving lost travelers and keep her way of living, what the higher ups did in the Central City was none of her concern.

What ended up being her concern however, was the sound of an ear-piercing screech coming from the clouds above her. Jostled out of her daydream Jake flung the fishing pole to the side and scanned the skies. Had it been just a freak cry from a gryphon or other flying animal? Knarl was still beneath the surface as it were so she kept a watchful eye for the next few moments, only to have her heart temporarily stop as Knarl breached with a large tuna in his jaws. Dropping the fish into the boat with a heavy thud he noticed that Jake looked like she’d seen a ghost. 

“What’s wrong?” he lowered his head to hers, “You’ve seen me in this form plenty of times.”

“N-not you.” She caught her breath and pointed to the sky, “just now there was some kind of roar; I’m not sure what it was. I didn’t see what caused it.”

Knarl turned his head to the clouds and too joined her with searching for the phantom roar. The horns upon his head flexed and relaxed as he concentrated in anxious silence.

“Perhaps you imagined it?” he kept his eyes ahead as he addressed the Capilli.

“Something loud enough to get my attention? No, there’s got to be something out there Knarl.” Jake held her breath and continued to look; feeling her skin prickle from the sea breeze.

Practically on cue the shriek was heard again, but this time the origin was unveiled as a grey dragon dove beneath the clouds into their view. It was almost undistinguishable from the clouds given its mottled grey and drab body. It’s large wings were flapping hastilly as it tucked its four legs in and dove once more in a display of aerodynamic talent. Several owl-like creatures were pursuing it and striking at the fleeing dragon with their talons and beaks.

“A Euro Dragon, but those live in Britain! What’s that thing doing here?” Jake grasped at the charms on her gloves and readied herself for a fight, “you think it’s going to attack us?”

“No, it’s running away,” Knarl narrowed his eyes as he watched the dark winged birds continue to chase after their prey, “those owls are native to Lemuria. Maybe it’s a territory dispute.”

“You think so?” Jake continued to spectate and didn’t hesitate to let one of her spells start to flare up, “Knarl, there’s too many of those Owls and you know as well as I do that those things only live in the forests, why in Mathildis’s name are they out here in the middle of the ocean?”

That was a good point, and the more Knarl looked on it seemed more like the Owls were attacking with the intent to harm rather than drive off the fleeing dragon.

“Alright then, lets help it out,” Knarl lowered his head and with a deftness that betrayed her earlier clumsiness Jake leapt atop the Lindworm’s snout and knelt down as he raised his head up; giving her a clear shot at the Owls.

“Might regret this later, but here goes nothing.” Screaming or shouting out would give them away; so with an overly dynamic pose instead Jake fired off a beam of electricity that soundly struck one of the Owls out of the sky. “One down.”

The crackling of magic alerted the other dark creatures to their fallen comrade and the threat down below. Diverting their attention from the dragon to the mage they all screeched and bared their talons and beaks at the red clad woman. Their war cry was cut short as Knarl fired off a blast of noxious fumes from his mouth; and those caught in the thick of it succumbed and fell into the sea. Those lucky enough to avoid it screeched once more and flapped away in desperation lest the Lindworm give chase.

“Let me know when you’re going to do that next time,” Jake coughed and waved away the remnants of the fumes. “That stuff won’t kill me but it’s mighty nasty as is.”

“You’re welcome.” Knarl gave a toothy grin as he then remembered the Euro Dragon who had been fleeing moments ago. Looking back to one of the rocky alcoves he saw the grey beast had taken refuge and was curled up; shaking in distress. “Hmm, looks like they need help.”

“With all those cuts and scrapes I’m not surprised,” Jake hopped off the Lindworm and took a seat back in the boat. She watched the shivering beast closely, “come on, hurry up.”

Knarl pushed the boat to the cliff face and upon seeing the great Lindworm the smaller dragon yelped and curled up in a tighter ball. Seeing his size and appearance was only making the poor thing scared he shifted from his form back to his human self in a deft movement; landing on the rock before the dragon. He was the first of the two to speak out to the distressed dragon.

“We saw you were being chased, we fended off those Owls for you, are you alright- save for those scratches?” He waited for an answer as Jake took her spot at his side; showing she too meant no harm against the spooked beast.

“… I’m fine.” The grey dragon finally answered and let her body relax, “I had just been flying near the coast when those things came after me. I chased some of the flock off but they just kept coming.”

“Wait,” Jake interjected, “the Lemurian coast? They chased you all the way to Nereida Isle?” That must meant the dragon had been flying for a good hour. Owls were known for their tenacity but this seemed like a stretch- she wouldn't suspend her belief on the story given the odd incidents plaguing Lemuria though.

“I’m that far from home?” The grey beasts ears perked up in alarm and her voice cracked as her predicament started to fully register in her panicked state of mind.

“Don’t worry now, you can come back with us, I live on Nereida Isle anyway,” Knarl comforted the dragon, “I might have to leave for a few more fish, but my dear friend Jake and my wife Tethys will be able to watch over you and we can tend to your wounds.”

“Oh, oh thank you,” her voice went from shrill to a leveled one filled with gratefulness, “Thank you, kind Lindworm and Tethys.” The dragon let her foreclaws plod on the damp rocks in mirth.

“Hey now, I’m not his wife!” Jake felt her cheeks flare up in embarrassment, “I’m Jake, and anyway this guy stinks at his own introductions- This here is Knarl.” She rubbed her face lest her blush remain and promptly put her hands on her hips afterward. “But that aside, what’s your name anyway?”

“Ah, my name…” the grey dragon shakily got to her feet and looked down at the two of them with the most sweet expression a drake could muster, “My name is Glauce.”

Hearing this the Capilli and Lindworm were both struck by surprise. They looked at each other and their expressions made it obvious that they both were taken aback by this revelation. 

That name…

“Glauce is it?” Jake tried not to let a nervous laugh get through, “As in Glauce from the Central City? Glauce, the Princess of Lemuria?” she felt as if something was crawling on her back.

“Yes, I am Luna’s grandchild.”


	2. The Grey Dragon

“Well color me surprised, a City person like you far out here, what- you stick your snout in an Owls nest to get them that mad at you?” Jake fell back on her usual snarky behavior to mask the nervousness she felt at hearing they were in the presence of someone of royalty.

“I’m not sure,” Glauce sat down and licked her scratched up paw, “I had gone to the Flooded Plains on a simple excursion and I found myself attacked by them. I had to resort to flying to get away from them. When there’s one of you and a bunch of them that’s what happens.”

Jake couldn’t help but feel suspicious that a dragon of all things had been routed by a bunch of Owls- but seeing how Glauce was worse for wear appeased the Capilli enough so that she wouldn’t press it. Besides, she mused that “City Folk” were softies in the wild, being able to turn into a dragon meant nothing. “Well, like Knarl said, you’re safe with us now.”

“Can you manage to change back?” Knarl crossed his arms and gained a knowing smile, “if you can’t, you can ride on my back to shore, Lindworms are the biggest dragons here after all; just mind the spines.”

“I don’t want to burden you even more than I already have.” The grey dragon looked sheepishly at the ground and then back to her two rescuers. But even with her embarrassment she concluded that going with them would be in her best interest if she wanted to rest up and return home unhindered. “Just give me a moment.”

Much like the dark aura that surrounded Knarl whenever he transformed, the same type of darkness covered the weary dragon and with a flash of light a young woman stood before them instead. Her pale skin reflecting the grey of her more formidable form as did her simple grey dress. Equally grey hair spilled down from her shoulders and an ivory band adorned her head. Knowing blue-green eyes looked at the two friends carefully as she tried to find her bare footing against the sea sprayed rocks.

“Hold on there,” Knarl offered an arm to the youth, “the moss here makes for shaky footholds after all. Last thing we need is you slipping into the ocean after everything that’s happened.”

“Thank you, I’m sorry for all this inconvenience I’ve put you through.” she continued to apologize while watching her step and with another hand hold from Jake, Glauce was able to set foot in the boat and sat down- almost falling back onto the one large tuna from before.

“It’s fine kid.” Jake took a roll of mint and using a flint on her glove struck and lit it, taking a deep breath from it she faced away lest Glauce get a face of mint smoke, “what matters is that the three of us are safe and we at least have one fish in the boat.” That, and there was probably going to be one hefty reward waiting for them back in Central city for saving the child of an Explorer’s Descendant. At least that solved the mystery as to why a “Euro Dragon” was flying around- as many of Cynbels kin had the ability to shift into preferred monstrous forms.

“Oh,” Glauce noticed just what she had bumped into and her pale complexion turned a shade of green ,”uh, sorry I-“ she put a hand to her mouth and for a moment Jake thought the poor thing was going to lose whatever she had in her stomach.

“Never seen a fish before?” Knarl pushed the boat back into the water and morphed back to his Lindworm form. The youth swallowed and shook her head to get the queasiness out of her system and made a point not to look behind her.

“It’s not that, it’s just it’s dead!” She kept her eyes locked on the Capilli in front of her as Knarl took hold of the boat and began the slow journey back to shore.

“Well, where did you think meat and all that stuff came from? _The sky?_ ” Jake raised an eyebrow at how naïve this girl was. She had always joked about city folk being softies but this was ridiculous. 

“No, it’s just gross.” She folded her arms and pouted at the mint-imbued woman.

“Well, thankfully it’s not for either of us, but tell me, what do you eat then back in Central City? I bet being Royalty is pretty nice isn’t it?” despite her snarkiness Jake was legitimately trying to strike up conversation to distract the girl from the fish.

“For the most part yes, although some people think your life is perfect.” Glauce huffed back. 

Hearing this Knarl tried not to smile as he knew that Glauce was taking a mental stab at Jake for her earlier rudeness. The Capilli was quick to take the hint and blew a smoke ring lazily and gave a nod of acknowledgement.

“Well, given how things have been lately that everyone’s been kind of on edge.” She mused about the Owls and the rumors about the Sun Palace; debating on asking the princess about the latter subject, “I’m sure that your family is looking for you right now too.”

“I’m sure of it, Mother wouldn’t dare let anything bad happen to me or anyone else for that matter.” Glauce continued to keep her eyes straight; “Grandmother will be worried sick until I return that much is certain.”

“We will find a way to get you back once you have healed, but it might be awhile after that since I have family matters to tend to.” Knarl spoke from the front of the boat as rain once again started to fall.

“Ah, talk about crummy timing,” Jake grumbled and smote her roll before stashing it away, “all you’ll probably want to do is sleep for the next day or so anyway. While that’s going on I’ll make sure to patch you up while Knarl goes out to sea again for his family.”

“Oh, for his wife?” It didn't take much imagination but the idea of seeing a baby dragon sometime in the future made the girl excited; any kind of good news would be welcomed as it were.

“Exactly, she’s due any day now, although it will only be a single egg from what Knarl tells me.” Jake took hold of Knarls spear and fiddled with it absentmindedly, “How long will it be after that?” she shouted across the length of the boat to the Lindworm.

“After a good few months of nesting it will hatch.” Was the throaty answer, “although the little thing will probably only be as long as you are Jake.”

“Oh boy, I’ll be sure not to step on her then.” Jake called back and grinned.

“Her? What makes you so sure they’re going to have a girl?” Glauce pondered over the way how these two creatures acted with one another. Back in the Central City usually tribes stayed within their own circles despite it being one of the main centers of commerce within Lemuria.

“Dunno, I just think they will, of course it’s always up to the baby what it wants to be in the end so what do I know.” The Capilli shrugged and lounged back. “When you travel around in the woods and don’t settle down you just kind of learn to take things as they are.”

“So you say, but you still won’t touch fish.”

“THERE IS AN EXCEPTION TO EVERYTHING KNARL!”

Glauce let an airy giggle escape her lips as the two of them continued to bicker about fish- and things concerning fish; it wasn’t long before they finally got to shore. Tethys was waiting for them; as were several other villagers- and they all had looks of worry on their faces.

“What happened out there?” Tethys didn’t even give them a chance to explain themselves as they helped Glauce out from the boat, “We heard roars and the crackling of magic.”

“Gosh, you heard that all the way from where we were?” Jake wiped her charm-riddled glove on her hip and tried not to smile given the circumstances. “Well we’re fine, uh, for the most part anyway.” While Glauce’s cuts and scrapes didn’t carry over to her human form, it was evident the girl was still shaken up.

“And who’s that?” one of the townsfolk called from the crowd, “you just didn’t fish her out of the sea did you?”

Glauce shrunk back behind Jake; which really didn’t accomplish much considering the Capilli’s height. Seeing that things were getting tense the Chief Lindworm cleared his throat loudly.

“No need for hostility now,” Knarl walked in between the villagers and the others and gained control with his booming voice, “this here is one of the royals from the Central City, she’s still shaken up but it looks like some Owls from Mathildis Forest had chased her all the way out here. Jake and I took care of them. Glauce is going to stay with us until she is well enough to be escorted back.”

“Royalty you say?” Tethys craned her neck around and looked down at the cowering grey clad girl, “She certainly looks the part, here I was thinking Nereida would never have an Explorers Descendant set foot on it. I was mistaken.” The tone in her voice said everything she didn’t; Tethys was not trusting of the girl, although throwing her back into the ocean wouldn’t get them any brownie points with the Royal Family either.

“I didn’t mean to get chased out this far, I’ll try to stay out of your way until I’m gone.” She responded with a stern voice.

“That’s settled, now let’s just get you sorted out. Jake, may you see her to my home?” Knarl spotted Tethys giving him a dirty look and he knew he would catch Hell for his choices later. Nothing appeasing her appetite could alleviate at least.

“Sure thing, come on lest your land legs are still wobbly from the boat.” Jake knew that getting the girl out of everyones sight was the proper course of action for the day.

Giving a bow of thanks to Knarl, Glauce tagged behind the impatient Capilli and ducked away inside the Lindworms home as soon as she had the chance. Peeking out the door flap she watched Knarl converse with his wife. From their body language it looked like they were going over just what had happened earlier in better detail. Glauce watched with a sinking feeling in her stomach as Tethys effortlessly gulped down the single fish they had brought back whilst eying the abode darkly.

“You can stop worrying, it’s not like she’s going to make you her dinner or anything.” She heard Jake give a bored drawl of her best attempt of comfort, “Come on, you’re probably sore from all that flying and hungry to boot. Least I can do while Knarl’s out is tend do you and be a comfort blanket. Ah, not like I’m gonna lay on you or whatever.”

“I understand.” Glauce left the doorway and went to sit across from the fire pit and watched as the mage struck her flint again to light the coals. A crackling of embers flew and soon a cozy warmth filled the room. “You’re not like most Capilli are you? Striking flint for fire and being bold like when you saved me.”

“Eh, I guess. Never really thought about it honestly. I just figured I’d put my casting spells to things one couldn’t normally make; anybody can make fire if they’re competent. Making electricity on the other hand is a different story.” Jake pulled a nearby basket to her and rummaged through the contents while she continued to ramble. “I can conjure lightning strong enough to fall a hydra, and even summon smaller things like sticks and stones. Sounds really dumb but I can’t count the amount of times a rock has gotten me out of trouble.”

“You get into trouble a lot then?”

“For a Capilli yes, most are just content to stay in our village back in the forest and those who venture out are just your run of the mill merchant; ‘course the Bolmus run circles around them when it comes to selling in Central City.” Jake took a few seeds out from the basket and smote them in the fire. “Smoke’s usually not the best thing for someone to inhale, but these Honey Seeds will make the air smell good while I work on a salve for you. That might take a bit though so I guess while I’m working you can start talking to your hearts content.”

“I owe you that much,” Glauce pulled her knees up and rested her chin upon them as she watched the woman work, “It’s just like what I told you earlier, but I guess I can tell you about what’s been happening in the City too. You know, the rumors about the Palace being closed and everything have been traveling pretty fast.”

“What’s the validity on that anyway? What does it matter if the Palace of the Sun is condemned down there with the Palace of the Explorers being only a hop skip and a jump away from Central City?” despite her smarts Jake never understood how the elite class worked sometimes.

“I’m not entirely sure myself, I guess Grandmother is just really passionate about our heritage. After all, Erin’s Stronghold is just ruins now, if they’re closing the Sun Palace it’s probably for renovations to keep it as awe inspiring it was when Cynbel first built it.”

“Sounds like a waste of time and effort to me, they’re just temples anyway, either make them useful or let them rot.” Jake huffed as she continued to work on a small flat of rock with various herbs and seeds- taking ash from the outer part of the fire and sprinkling it on top of the pile before spitting in it and working the mulch. Noticing Glauce’s silence Jake surmised she struck a nerve “That’s what I think anyway.”

“Your kind would rather put breweries into places of worship, like what you’re doing in Mathildis Forest. It’s a wonder that no tribe takes the Capilli seriously.” It looked like Glauce wasn’t going to let Jake walk all over her in good sport like how Knarl did.

“Remind me who’s getting revenue though; us, or you Royals.” Jake pursed her lips and rubbed the thick salve to a good consistency, “Either way, as much as you think we’re a laughing stock you can’t ignore that we’re good when it comes to making use of what’s been given to us. Now here, tell me where it stings the most and I’ll get this set on you.”

Glauce was not keen on letting the scraggy trash-talker get the end of exchange but she would have to hold her tongue if she wanted to alleviate the aching of her body. Despite having watched Jake put her own spit in the weird concoction it felt soothing to the touch as she simply pointed to where she needed it.

“It smells weird.”

“Lots of things are weird in Lemuria. Of course a lot of things are weird back on the other continent too. You see some of that crazy stuff those French people wear? I swear those hats and bonnets make them look like they got dressed in the dark.”

The grey haired girl found herself smiling at this. Perhaps Jake just needed some getting used to; it seemed that for whatever reason she was very prickly about the Royals- maybe Knarl knew exactly why. But that was a question that would have to simmer until it was ready. The areas where Jake’s remedy had been placed soon began to have their pain ebb away. Mulling over the idea of food the Royal didn’t even have to ask about lunch plans as her stomach growled loudly that it caught Jake by surprise.

“You got a dragon in there too?” the Capilli dusted off her hands and tossed the board in which she had been making the salve to the side carelessly. “Well I hope you’re in the mood for jerky because that’s all I’ve got until Knarl comes back. If you’re lucky you might get a minnow, but so far everything’s been going to his wife.”

“Do Lindworms usually have such a small clutch? As for “a dragon in there” I know that some of the Royals back in the City can transform into dragons like how I can but we’re still relatively Travelers.” Even if it was “pauper” food Glauce welcomed anything.

“To answer your question, Lindworms from what I’ve seen have about one or two eggs. This entire village is a Lindworm establishment you see; and Knarl and Tethys are the overseers. I guess you could call them Chiefs.” Hunting through her many pockets and satchels Jake was able to fish out a rather hefty slice of jerky, “Here, you can have this, just don’t ask what it is.” There was a pause, “it isn’t Traveler you ding dong, come on take it.”

There was an impish snerk of a laugh as Glauce had stayed quiet on purpose to get a rise out of her. The girl took the morsel and ate slowly as she didn't know when she would eat next.

_Traveler_ was the word taken by the humans of Lemuria to differentiate themselves with the rest of the world; as it was, humans that lived in Lemuria for a great period of time seemed to obtain a greater longevity than others, and many found ways to unlock powers within themselves such as being able to transform their bodies into more beastly combative forms or hone magic prowess. Of course there were dragons and other fantastic large beasts living in Lemuria, but they were in tight knit groups like how Knarls people were due to the ever-present fear that their bigger forms had. In a way they had to find a way to transform just like how Travelers did; hence why many sometimes stayed in human form unless it was absolutely necessary.

The two continued to make small talk about Lemuria and the nearby countries well until the Sun finally started to set. Seeing the harsh reds peeking through the door-flap Jake figured that Knarl would have finished with tending to his wife by now. Picking herself off the floor she glanced back at her would-be guest.

“I’ll be back; I’m sure Knarl’s done any-“

The Capilli was cut short as the door was pushed to the side and a fish twice the length of her height fell on top of her with a comical thud. Knarl peeked in and without even a pause laughed at seeing the hapless woman pinned under the yellowtail.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be at the door like a waiting puppy there,” it was evident where Jake got her burns and quips so readily; Knarl was just as vicious but somehow more playful with his insults. “Let me get that for you.”

“Please do.” Jake grumbled from the dusty ground as the fish was hoisted off her effortlessly. Slinging the tuna over his shoulder Knarl shifted his attention to Glauce- who was trying to hide a grin at seeing Jake still face first on the floor. “I hope Jake was enough entertainment for those past few hours. You’ll have to forgive me for taking off so quickly after we got you set up here.”

“Jake told me everything, about your wife and all.” She scooted over and offered Jake her hand to help her up. There was a grunt and Jake pulled herself to her feet with her help. “So I understand if it will be awhile before I can head back to the city.”

“Well that’s settled I see, however you might not have to wait long at all. But bringing attention to this,” he pointed to the fish slung over his shoulder, “Tethys let me take this back for you, its too much to eat in one sitting but this stuff is great when you smoke it. Lot less tough than jerky anyway.” He eyed his short statured friend.

“I didn’t know when you were coming back and she was hungry. What was I supposed to do; let her gnaw on some branches?”

“You both really like to get at each others goat don’t you?” Glauce butted in yet while she spoke she realized that they weren’t raising their voices or furrowing their brows.

“It’s just something we’ve always done. Ever since he found me on the Lemurian coast trying to fashion myself a boat to check out the outer islands, Knarl made fun of my inept height and then just offered a ride on his back. You could only imagine the look on my face when I saw a Lindworm in the flesh!”

“I was surprised too, I never thought I’d see a Capilli as gutsy as you. “ Knarl sat down across from the two of them and began to slice off select cuts from the fish; setting each piece down in a carved stone bowl. “Jake told me all about her prior adventures while we were out in the Flooded Plains and I found myself wanting to forge a friendship with her. A wandering jack-of-trades and the Chief of the Lindworms; we’re a rather odd duo but we’ve been friends for many years.”

“Yeah I knew him before he even married Tethys. Gosh this poor guy was just the most meek thing ever and it was only because I pushed him out the door he got the gumption to finally ask her out.”

“You’re giving yourself too much credit Jake, but yes, we work well in tandem. She is the loose cannon and I am the cleared mind when it comes to most things we’ve been involved in.” having filleted the fish Knarl set the pieces evenly apart and then placed the bowl on the fire- snuffing some of the light from the room. He took a few cracked honey seeds and tossed them around the bowl into the fire to renew the aroma and set a wood slab above the bowl. “This is just for tonight. In the morning we’ll go to the forest before I head to sea and get you a few more things to eat.”

“The two of you have been awfully kind.” Glauce relaxed in the ashen glow of the fire pit. “I’ve been lucky to have had you been there when you did.”

“Think nothing of it Glauce,” Jake reclined and relit another batch of mint leafs, “If there’s one thing we’re not gonna mess up at least it’s going to be the hospitality of Lemuria.” She took a deep breath and exhaled a perfect smoke ring.

“That’s very true, there hasn’t been a war here in this land even prior to the Explorers arriving here from what’s been passed down.” Knarl kept an eye on the pot, “I can’t say the same for the other countries around us.”

“I think staying here is in the best interest for everyone.” Glauce found herself getting groggy; perhaps it was the combination of mint and honey seed. “there’s no better place on Earth than Lemuria.”

“I’ll agree to that.” Jake fiddled with her rolled herbs and caught a glimpse out of the home. From what she could see Tethys was right outside the door and sleeping soundly- so that’s what those gentle rumbles were the Capilli lazily mused.

There were rumbles of something else far from Nereida Isle though.


	3. Heir to a Throne

She hid amongst the rubble; pulling her tail in and biting her lip to keep from sobbing. There were sounds of flares being flung and in the darkness flashes of light emanated relentlessly. The whinnying of horses signaled that Travelers were rushing past. She didn’t want to look, she didn’t want to move- anything could be a fatal mistake in this terrifying moment.

“Where are they?” a woman’s voice called out to the others in her battalion, “find whoever did this now!”

Armored feet, hooves, and taloned claws beat the earth as Traveler and Kategida alike spilled into the ruins and overturned everything in their path. No perpetrators, no survivors, the only thing they were met with were the bodies of dragons that had been killed an hour before their arrival. The youngest of the Kategida in the group snarled in frustration and punched a wall; his black claws ringing from the sheer force.

“There’s no one left! Those dastards have leveled this entire place! Who would be so cowardly as to attack the Moon Dragons?” his voice was practically a roar from how furious he was.

“Oengus, being angry isn’t going to solve anything.” The womans voice from before sounded out against the chaos around them, “There must have been a reason for them to be attacked as it were. What we must do is gather up any clues that will lead us to who started this; and then justice will be given to them.”

“Your Maje- Lumia,” Oengus lowered his head; his ears drooping as he realized just how angry he had become, “I apologize, but the loss of life here is just too much to bear. No one in Lemuria is going to feel safe once they find out about this.”

“We will need to find a way to divulge it the best we can. I don’t like what we’ve discovered either.” Lumia would have told him to refrain from calling her by her title given the circumstances, but it was a hard habit for Oengus to break.

The hiding figure found herself leaning in to listen to the two of them. Peering around a corner she saw them; a Kategida high and bulky in stature with a red mask and fluffy white fur. The woman called Lumia was holding a prominent spear and dressed in white flowing robes with strawberry blonde hair that seemed to get caught in the wind the same as her dress did. The two of them looked like statues, as they were so perfect amongst the rubble and desecration. The illusion dissipated as Oengus caught a glint of movement in the corner of his eye and he glaced to where the figure hid.

She chirped in fright when the Kategida locked eyes on her.

“There’s someone here Lumia.” He growled. Without instruction from Lumia he began lumbering forward with his claws out. In seconds he was looming right over the hiding figure.

She put her own claws above her head and whined in fear; waiting for the warrior to bring his hands down and end her life.

Instead she let out a gasp as he gently picked her up and cradled her. Despite his tremendous size Oengus held her with such gentleness that one could liken it to a cloud. With her big eyes she looked towards the woman, whom Oengus had addressed as Lumia seconds ago.

“Look, it’s a Moon Dragon pup,” The growls of his voice softened as he looked down at the frightened drake with pity, “I didn’t see any other dragons in the little spot where she was hiding, she must have fled when the attacks started.”

“It’s a miracle she survived, her wings aren’t even fully developed.” Lumia raised a hand to the pup slowly- seeing the movement the baby gave another chirp of fright and glared at her. “Now now, I don’t want to harm you in any way.”

“The softness of your voice is what will give the little one comfort, they’re much too young to understand us right now.” The Kategida shifted his arms as to let the dragon be comfortable as much as possible. “What will we do now?”

“Let everyone else continue to search this area,” Lumia shouldered her spear and kept her eyes upon the shivering child. “This is no place for a baby to be. Let us get them back to camp and once we find out more, we will head back for Central City at once. While we can’t let the general population know just yet, Luna must know as soon as possible.”

“Agreed, there’s been enough bad news this night.” Oengus shook his head and followed Lumia’s lead back to camp.

As it were, Oengus was blissfully ignorant of just how much bad news he and his brothers would be hearing in the upcoming months.


	4. The Naming of the First Thief

Glauce found herself living on Nereida Isle for a good full week. Even though the first day had been more of an eye opener to the predicament she was in, the Royal did her best to assist either Jake or Knarl when the situation called for it. On the fifth day of her being on the island, she was given the news in the morning that Tethys had delivered her egg with no complications. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she pulled herself off the ground and winced at daybreak shining into the hut.

“That didn’t take long at all,” she mumbled in sleepy stupor. She realized too late that what she had said had been somewhat callous.

“When you’re the size of a building things like that come relatively easy, come on, you should come see.” Knarl took the girls hand in his and readily hoisted her up; even having been his guest for several nights Glauce still was caught by surprise as to how strong his grip was. “The rest of the village have already left too, so you don’t have to worry about anyone giving you trouble.”

“The concern is noted,” the girl replied. She gave a loud yawn and stretched after getting to her feet. “I wish they would all realize that I don’t wish harm or ill will on you or the village.”

“When we’ve lived here by ourselves without the Royals getting involved for so long, change can be rather scary.” He shrugged and pat her back. “The three of us know that you want to get home too. So come on now, don’t saddle these worries on you so much or you’re just going to fall into more of a rut.”

“But, are you sure Tethys is okay with me coming anywhere near her egg? She gets prickly when I’m in eyesight of her so what’s she going to do when I get close to your child?” The princess swallowed at the thought.

“She won’t gobble you up, you can relax.” There was another rough pat and Glauce felt like she was going to have the wind knocked out of her with how strong Knarl was. “Now let’s get going.”

Stepping out into a light mist and lazy sun was getting to be the norm. It felt good on the Royals skin and she took a deep breath before glancing to where Tethys rested in silence. Jake was lounging against the milky white scales of the lindworm as she noticed their approach.

“Took your sweet time did you?” The red clad woman had her hands folded as she cheekily looked up at them. “I mean we’re not going anywhere but you know.”

“Jake,” Tethys moved her head into view and snorted down at the Capilli, “my child is going to pick up your awful manners, with the way they practically ooze off of you.”

“The only things that ooze off of me are charisma and personality,” Jake quipped, beaming a Glasgow grin with her come-back.

The lindworm gave an exasperated grown and adjusted herself so she could focus on Glauce and her husband. Tethys gave Knarl an affectionate nuzzle before speaking further.

“I see you brought her along, I guess it’s for the best. But at least now I can take my other form again as a nice break from having to loaf around this past month.” Just like when Knarl shifted between his forms, a dark aura encompassed Tethys and concentrated itself. Gone was the larger ivory dragon and in her place was a woman with skin as dark as Knarls. Much like him she wore a simple outfit that was a functional blue dress with several silver strands for a necklace. Her lengthy white hair was allowed to spill over her shoulders and down her back, and her knowing red eyes gleamed with relief. “Much better.”

Glauce caught herself starring and shook her head to snap her attention to somewhere else. Catching a glimpse to the side of the Lindworm wife she saw a brilliant white egg at least the size of Jake nestled against some soft moss. Wow, that was certainly impressive.

“It’s beautiful,” the Royal murmured, before she realized to her horror that she had spoken aloud. There was raucous laughter from the other three, and Tethys covered her mouth with her hand in a polite gesture.

“Thank you, I wasn’t expecting such a direct compliment from you but I’ll take it.” The woman’s laugh was perhaps one of the most comforting things Glauce had ever heard. She hadn’t spoke of much of the happenings back in Central City but laughter had been quite a rare occurrence in her life. Glauce treasured every instance of laughter she heard here on Nereida Isle.

“In case you’re wondering, we’re not going to leave the little one here in open air,” said Knarl, walking over to the egg. He placed his hand atop its shimmering surface tenderly. “The shell had to harden for a good hour, but now they can be placed inside where it’s warm and can be cozy before hatching.”

Tethys looped an arm around one of Knarls and pulled herself in for a hug; beaming she looked like she was practically glued to him. “That will be soon. Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Yo, we’re still here too you know you dorks.” Jake leaned over in a comical way to squeeze herself into Tethys’ line of sight. “Let’s get this loafer inside before they get too cold. Then you two can be all fluffy in peace.”

“Alright, alright.” Knarl rolled his eyes but gave a wink to his wife and motioned for Glauce to come to his side. “Let’s get the egg in before Jake blows a fuse.”

“I’d help if I were tall enough,” Jake murmured, following behind as a spotter lin case anyone slipped. “I mean it looks like you guys got this under control anyway.”

With the egg in tow, the quartet slowly made their way from the mossy shore back to the hut. Even though the weight of the egg was carried mostly by the two lindworms. Glauce felt her shoulders strain almost immediately. Gods they were strong! She bit her lip and winced to contribute what she could. Craning her neck to the side, she kept an eye out for both her footing and any obstacles ahead.

As the four of them reached to the door at last, Glauce found herself exhaling and breathing in deeply, having held her breath for much of the last leg. Jake rushed ahead to pull the tarp back and allow them entry. It seemed that while the Royal had been sleeping, Knarl had already set up a pile of blankets for the precious cargo. Jake directed them into setting down the egg as softly as they could manage and after a few more tense moments they withdrew their hands and looked down at the silvery white shape between them.

Glauce couldn’t help but continue to admire it. “Wow, it’s even more pretty in this light.” Turning to her her two lindworm hosts, she gave a bow and tried her best not to trip over her words any further. “Knarl, Tethys, I want to thank you for trusting me to help you with this. It… it really means a lot.”

“Think nothing of it Glauce,” Tethys purred with a smile. She was warming up to the grey robed girl, if only slightly. “You’ve proven yourself to be dependable these past few days.” She paused before adding the inevitable insult. “If not a little flighty.”

There was a warm feeling in the Royal’s heart as she beamed at the half praise. She knew however that she would have to return home sooner or later, lest her family become more worried day by day.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done, I’m glad I could help out when I could too. But Knarl… I know this might seem abrupt, but I need to return back to Lemuria and to my family.” She tried not to sound too adamant but her point still stood.

“She’s got a point you know,” Jake admitted, placing her hands on her hips and walking between the couple. “While it’s been a blast, we need to take a few days and get her back, or else Luna and Umbra will lose their heads over their kid being lost in the big scary woods.” The Capilli winked at the Royal and practically swaggered over to the door. “I’m going to stock up in the village while you devise a plan, I’m sure that you’ll work something out.” There was barely a half-wave before she was out the door.

Tethys didn’t even wait for her to be out of earshot as she let out a groan and shot a disgusted look at Knarl. “Sometimes she really wears on her welcome.” The lindworm mother fell back next to her egg and reclined. “Too bad Capilli make for poor eating.”

Knarl let out a bellowing laugh that went on for a good moment. He looked over to see Glauce’s reaction and stopped abruptly, seeing the poor girl had gone as white as the eggshell.

“Oh good Gods she was joking Glauce, we have never eaten Capilli before and we never plan on it.”

“I sure hope so,” Glauce replied weakly with a shudder.

Once Glauce had recovered from her momentary horror, the three began to plan over how best to take the girl home. Tethys wasn’t keen at all on having her husband leave for an expedition with the arrival of the egg, and they all sympathised. However they both agreed that sending Glauce alone with Jake would probably end in some hijinks-riddled disaster, so one of them had to go. Knarl was the more able-bodied out of the two lindworms given the strain the egg had given Tethys. They finally decided that Knarl would have to bite the bullet and accompany Glauce back to Central City with Jake.

“It should only take a few days, and we won’t be doing any sightseeing either.” Knarl sat down next to his wife and reached out for her hand in understanding. Tethys gave a drawn out sigh but reached out and took his hand tightly. “I promise.”

“You’re right,” the lindworm woman replied. “As it is, you and Jake are the only ones in the village who trust her. I admit that you still need to win me over Glauce, but maybe you will some day in the future.” When you’re far from here and out of our hair, she thought.

Glauce nodded. The weight of being an inconvenience when this family had a more important matter at hand was really beginning to gnaw at her. The awkward silence was thankfully broken the door flew open Jake and lumbered in with a loaded bag.

“Jake, just what did you get in the village?” Knarl leaned forward with a look that spoke of both interest and suspicion. Tethys raised an eyebrow at how giddy the swindler looked.

“Just the usual, bric-a-brac and occuli from around Nereida Isle you can’t find on the mainland, gotta make a revenue while we’re in the City right?” The woman was met with unimpressed silence. “Hey, don’t look at me like that.”

Glauce leaned over and stuck her tongue out at the Capilli. “We’re going to give you all the dubious looks we want.”

“Looks like someone is learning from you, Knarl.” Tethys found some comfort in the amusement between Jake and whatever silly insults she got thrown in her direction. Of course everything flung at the occulist more or less rolled off her like water on a ducks back; Jake only beamed more at Glauce’s little taunt.

“She’s learning from the best.” Jake made her way to the other end of the hut and sat down; arranging her wares and humming to herself. There was a silence throughout the room as she continued to work; finally realizing that everyone was looking at her, she snapped her attention up to the three. “Uh, so what’s the plan then?”

“I will be coming with you,” Knarl filled his friend in. “We will leave in the morning with you two in the boat and me steering you just like when we first found Glauce.” He motioned at the Royal. “It will be a simple enough journey from here to the mainland. It’s dealing with Central City and whatever Glauce’s family will have to let us endure once we meet up with them.” He didn’t suspect anything treacherous would happen, but there was the possibility they would be questioned for a considerable amount of time about Queen’s grandchild’s treatment while she had stayed on the island.

“Grandmother Luna will listen to whatever I tell her. If I get to speak first it shouldn’t be much of a hassle for you at all – you could probably even head home the same day.” While her own mother sometimes was distant, her Grandmother at least seemed to listen intently to what the grey girl had to say.

“It’s settled then.” Jake rolled over to the side and stretched out. “If you allow me, I’m going to get some shut eye. Wouldn’t want to have to wake up at the crack of dawn and be grouchy for the entire trip from sleeplessness.”

“Goodnight then you oversized Angler Fish,” Tethys answered in a sickeningly sweet sing song voice. She tried to suppress a laugh as Jake made a somewhat rude gesture with her hand and rolled away from the light of the fire pit. “I will see you all off in the morning.,” the expectant mother cooed, her voice hushed. Glauce nodded wearily, covering her mouth in a yawn. Knarl knew that no one really wanted to talk about leaving tomorrow. He only gave a nod of understanding and motioned Tethys to sleep at his side as he smote out the fire.

“I’ll see you all in the morning then,” the girl murmured to everyone. She felt like everyone was putting on a face. Tension gnawed away at her as she tried to fall asleep, visions of the uncertain road ahead plaguing her half-dreams. Finally the stress of staying awake whittled away and she drifted off.

* * *

There was a whine from the barracks as the only survivor from the siege a few nights ago awoke to find Lumia and Oengus absent. Periscoping around, the baby Moon Dragon huffed and pulled herself around in effort to find her imprinted “parents”. She hugged the ground whenever a soldier or Kategida warrior walked by the entrance to the tent, popping back up in search once she felt safe enough.

Reaching the door, she peeked out and saw the blonde woman from before talking with a few more of the masked warriors just like the one who had been staying at her side. Relief of seeing Lumia was enough to still her fright and she clambered out the room and towards the post where the scouts were.

“When morning comes we will return, we’ve been trying to find any lead on who caused the massacre but we’ve come up with nothing.” Lumia took a deep breath and mentally berated herself. It wasn’t any fault of the Kategida, nor was it her Traveler Infantry slacking off. Whoever had attacked the Cliff Dwellings of the Moon Dragons had done so in such a way it was as if they had been struck down from the very sky; those who they had found had had their bones broken with such force that it was presumed only a natural force could have done it. Lumia refused to believe their was magic in the world horrible enough to annihilate an entire tribe from above like that.

“Luna won’t like this at all,” one of the warriors huffed, folding his arms. “She will think we’re holding something back; she’s already on tilt with her Granddaughter missing.”

That was another bit of grim news that had been a morale killer amongst Lumia’s forces: a messenger pigeon had relayed to them that Glauce had vanished off the Flooded Plain coast. It had been almost a week and there had been no of evidence emerging to show she was still alive. It only made Lumia want to find the culprit of the Dwelling Massacre even more and bring them to justice, if only to bring some order to this dark series of events.

“Ahh! Ahh…” came a begging whine, to everyone’s surprise. The commander looked down to see the Moon Dragon pawing at her dress, the hatchling’s beak-like mouth agape, like a baby bird begging for food.

“Now how did you get out, little trouble maker?” Lumia knelt down and picked up the pup, and the dragon coiled her lengthy tail around the commander’s waist for an extra hold. “You’re supposed to remain inside for right now.”

The dragon snorted and rested against her, giving a coo and finding comfort against the Traveler. The Kategida chuckled at seeing Lumia baby the dragon who was now dead set on being held for the time being.

“Something tells me she won’t be budging anytime soon,” one of the soldiers chuckled, his fellow guard trying hard to still their laughter. Seeing the smug little dragon be so quite content with its new “nest” was just too much for them; it was such a relief to finally see something cute and endearing for a change from when they had embarked on their grim mission.

The entire event had been taxing on them all. Even though the Kategida were hardier in body than Travelers were, they were more prone to be shaken up by the horrors they encountered in the field. Any decent leader could tell that the entire team wanted to go home, and Lumia cursed having to deal with the responsibility of abiding by the rulings of Luna. She had written back to her of their findings in the Cliffs of Erin: she told her how she was concerned for the outposts and Sky City itself which rested beneath the Moon Temple, close by to where the Moon Dragons had their nests. Lumia had wanted to return to Central City post haste to recover and devise a strategy to strike into the wilds again, but a response from the palace the next day commanded her band to press on, in search of the ones who had eradicated the Moon Dragons.

Lumia could see where Luna was coming from. Moon Dragons were one of the most magical prone creatures that had resided in Lemuria. Their penchant for magic was unmatched by any other drake, and their ability to fly more dynamically than any other creature despite their long bodies made them a force to be reckoned with. Despite having such strength of both mind and body, they were content to stay in their cliff perches and take regular game in the woods for food rather than their more animalistic brethren on the European continent. Knowing that they had been so easily dealt with by an unseen force had sunk the hearts of all who learned what had transpired.

It also left Sky City open to attacks. Not that any wars had been waged in Lemuria, but the Travelers and other residents of the nearby settlement had always felt safe with the mellow drakes nearby. Lumia felt as if everything near the Cliffs of Erin was now exposed; whatever had killed the Moon Dragons … what was keeping it from storming other areas now?

“Your Majesty,” a voice called out to the leader. She turned in place to see a Kategida with a taller build than Oengus, his armor was more accented and with an orange color scheme, unlike the greens of her friend. His attention however was directed to the Moon Dragon that was sleeping against her. She couldn’t see his face but his stature and terse breathing was all she needed to know exactly how he felt. “You should bring that back to your tent right now lest it get into more trouble.”

The “it” he was referring to was the Moon Dragon whose weight was now beginning to tax the Traveler. She stole a glance down at the pup and then back to the tall warrior who had addressed her.

“I will take her back when I see fit. She seems relatively happy where she is, Cuchulain.” Even if I fall over backwards and she pins me with her weight in her sleep, she thought in alarm. “If you have anything else to report save for how I take care of dragons, I would readily hear it.”

Cuchulain looked rather taken aback at how his commander acted regarding the dragon, but he coughed and motioned to the forests behind them.

“I understand that we will be returning soon?””

“I will put in special orders for us to return tonight; we’ve been out here long enough with no clues gained as to who attacked the Cliffs, nor do we have any news about Glauce. Staying out here with the supplies we have left would be foolish and I believe everyone wants to go home.”

“You’re going to go against Luna’s command?” His words were hushed as they were outside, thankfully. All the same, Lumia couldn’t help but feel agitated that the Kategida would ask such a weighted question where others could hear.

“Yes, it’s not insubordination with any intent of malice. I only want what’s best for my Scout Team and everyone else. We’re no good to anyone if we are understocked and strung out from constant work. The fact we are even able to have a conversation right now is a blessing.”

With all the talking, the dragon yawned and nuzzled her head into Lumia’s neck, annoyed with the noises around her but not wanting to leave the comfort of the Traveler.

“It’s taken a liking to you.”

“She,” the commander corrected him. “She has.” She adjusted her weight for both her and the dragon’s comfort. “Luna will probably want to take her in once we return to the Palace.”

“The Queen is very caring of her subjects,” the young Kategida admitted. “I am certain that she is trying best to put on a front for the people of Central City, knowing full well what has happened here in the Cliffs.” Cuchulain took a deep breath. He didn’t want to think of how things were going to be once this news was made public.

“I’m going to watch over this dragon for now though. There is no reason to give her up to Luna until needed.” Lumia gently rubbed the pup’s head. The action made the little dragon rise from her nap, and with another yawn she decided that she had had enough. Wriggling a little to free herself from being held, the pup was set down against the cool grass at their feet. The moon dragon sniffed the air and clambered around Lumia’s feet, stopping abruptly at her side and standing at attention.

“You have your own guard dog now it seems.”

“She isn’t a dog, nor is she a pet.” Admittedly her mannerisms as a baby were indeed very ‘doggish’. Lumia hoped she would grow out of that despite not having any dragon parents to raise her. “But she does need a name though.”

“Have you been thinking of one?” The youngest out of all the Kategida wanted to warn Lumia of the dangers of the abrupt connection made upon naming something, but he thought against it. It looked like her mind had already been made, what with the child having no parents they could trace.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking of naming her after the time which we found her, if you think that would be wise.”

“The time… you mean twilight?”

“Yes, it is a long name, but a name I find fitting for her.”

The dragon seemed to sense that they were talking about her, so she headbutted the Traveler in a futile effort to be part of the conversation. She huffed and pawed at the ground in a manner to say, ‘please talk to me’. Lumia humored her and knelt down so they were eye to eye.

“Do you want to hear what I was thinking of?”

The dragon nodded enthusiastically and pawed the ground again.

“Your name is Twilight, in Lemurian language, it is Crepusculum. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it’s a name that I believe fits you quite well.”

There was silence and the pup was still as a statue. For a moment Cuchulain thought that she had offended the dragon with such a weird name, but he was proven wrong as the pup nodded once more and chirped.

“You like the name, Crepusculum?” Lumia beamed down at the dragon child.

She was thoroughly answered with a tackle of a hug, Crepusculum giving the most cuddly seal of approval to the name the Traveler had bestowed upon her. There was a little song of chirps as the Moon Dragon rested her head on Lumia’s shoulder and brought her lengthy arms around for a hug, wings perking up in mirth.

“That settles it. Welcome into the Royal Family then, Crepusculum, I’m sure you’ll make a great addition.”


	5. Through the Mist

The morning air was chilly from the misty rain that fell routinely on Nereida Isle. Tethys had woken up earlier than the others and found herself lost in thought. Having excused herself without waking her husband, she sat on one of the rocks outside their home and looked to the ocean, watching the waves break on the shore rhymically. Perhaps it was just the grey morning but she felt anxious about Knarl and the others leaving; especially in the company of Glauce.

While the girl had at least pulled her own weight on the island - helping the villagers by going into the wood for lumber and felling trees with her sharpened dragon tail, and other feats her winged self only manage readily - Tethys still had ways to go trusting her. Even though she had been “warming up” to her in the overall sense of things, there was just something about the girl being a Royal that made the Lindworm wary.

Arguing with Knarl would be foolish; he had promised anyways they were going to be escorting her back today, and that would be the end of it. The Royals as much as she cared would never set foot on Nereida Isle ever again. Maybe Glauce was too young to remember the goings on, but prior to the Lindworms leaving the main continent of Lemuria several years ago, there had been dark whispers of someone who wanted their awesome strength and poisonous breath for their own design. Bringing no attention to the accusations, but more of a declaration of independence from Lemuria’s Royal government, the Lindworm Tribe migrated to Nereida Isle and settled. Since Travelers preferred foot travel and nautical advancements had been close to stagnant, the Lindworms were able to live in peace. Coming to a conclusion with her musings Tethys sighed and mentally kicked herself; there was no way that Glauce had a hand in the fear mongering those years ago.

So why was she still anxious?

The sound of footsteps on the sand behind her alerted the white haired woman that she wasn’t alone. Looking over her shoulder she was greeted with an awkward wave, from Glauce of all people.

“You’re awake early.” The mother gave her a concerned look.

“I couldn’t sleep all that well." The Royal walked to her side, shooting a glance out to the ocean before directing her attention to the sitting Lindworm. "Just itching to get home and everything. Not that I haven’t appreciated you and the others," Glauce added quickly, fearing her statement had seemed insensitive.

“I understand, no one likes being out of their comfort zones.” Tethys folded her hands and looked back to the sea. “Your family must be worried about you. I’ve only become a mother as of yesterday and I couldn’t bear to think of anything happening to my child. It must be so terrible for them.”

“Well if it goes as planned we’ll be in town before the sun sets.” Truth was Glauce had tried everything to find a messenger pigeon on Nereida Isle in her free time, but hours of hunting proved fruitless. Even asking Jake to set traps had been for naught. “Perhaps Lumia will be there too.”

“Lumia? As in “The Conquerors' Avatar” Lumia?” Lumia was a household name in Lemuria, especially because of her exploits in trying to keep the Kingdom tightly knit, commanding endlessly speedy networks of communication. Should any tragedy strike, Lumia would be the one to rally the warning bells at a moment's notice. Wherever Lumia went, she instilled justice and hope in the people. In contrast to the more reclusive Cynbel Descendants, the Child of Erin who was dubbed “The Conquerors' Avatar” by Queen Luna was much more outgoing; what was more, she was silently favored to be next in line to rule, despite her indifference to potentially gaining the title of Queen.

“Yes, she has been leading more Scout Teams into the Wilds of Lemuria, with the recent movement of pilgrimages to the places of worship for the Four Explorers. It’s proven to have been a real morale booster for everyone in Central City to have an Explorer's Descendant looking out for them.” 

The awkwardness between the two alleviated as they began to talk about the land across the ocean; it was the most comfortable they had ever been with each other. Tethys inquired about how life was in Central City and the Palace of the Explorers; to her surprise Glauce spoke with nothing but positivity. Every tribe within Lemuria was welcomed within its walls and many of them flourished within. Kategida fashioned armor and weapons for those who wanted to go farther than the borders of Lemuria. Aerostati were toiling away at possible air travel and at night performed within the theaters of every district. Capilli and Bolmus traded their own specialties and the Amara ran clinics and dens for those who were weary. It sounded almost too good to be true; but the way how Glauce rambled on it seemed like at least she was convinced that everything within Central City was fine. Maybe being a Royal had something to do with it.

The grey clad girl was so caught up in telling the other woman about life back home that she was brought to attention by a swift elbow to her side. Yelping she turned in place and saw a smug Jake idly lighting another roll of mint.

“You’re quite the chatterbox when you want to be kid. Tethys gave you an inch and you took yourself a mile.” The Capilli inhaled deeply and directed a cough away from the two. “Knarl's getting a few last things together.”

“And I gather you’re already prepared for the trip?” Tethys raised an eyebrow at the schemer.

“I’m always prepared for anything, I’ve got enough satchels and pockets to fit any manner of things in them- got to make up for whatever Glauce here can’t carry, what with that pocketless frilly dress of hers.” Jake winked at the Royal who in turn gave an exasperated groan. “I’m just kidding, if it comes down to it Glauce can at least turn into a dragon so we can have the world's first flying Capilli act.”

“There’s going to be a flying Capilli in a moment if you think you can simply ride on my back wherever you please.” The princess blushed just the same.

“I’ll keep that threat in mind then, I’ll get what I want with either outcome.” Jake smudged the end of her mint roll against a rock and took another puff, grinned and added, "I’ll see you down at the shore then.” Another wink and she was off.

“How do you manage to not toss her into the ocean?” Glauce muttered.

“I did once a long time ago; one of the first times she was on the island. Took her ages to dry off once she got back on land. Smelled like seaweed for a good few days.”

As the two of them had a good chuckle at that image, Knarl strode up with his spear, looking just as he did the day he and Jake had gone out fishing and ended up bringing Glauce home. The only difference was that he wore simple shoes and had a satchel slung around his shoulder. It seemed he traveled light in comparison to Jake.

“Nice to see you two hitting it off." _Finally_ , he sadly thought to himself, “Glauce, are you ready to go now?” He waited for an answer before offering a hand to the girl.

There was a moment's hesitation, which surprised the married couple, but the girl gave a silent nod and with help from Knarl got to her feet. Tethys stood up in response and found a place by her husband. Giving the older woman a bow of thanks, Glauce took her leave and walked down to the shore to where the boat was docked.

“I didn’t get to tell her that I wasn’t even in Lindworm form when I threw Jake into the ocean.” Tethys folded her arms and tutted.

“You’ve got a mean arm dear,” laughed Knarl as he relaxed and rested a hand upon her shoulder. "Tethys... it shouldn’t take that long at all once we reach the Lemurian mainland.” He wanted to reassure her; he too felt nervous but needed to put on a front. If anyone from the village would be coming to send them off he would need to push aside his uncertainty and anxiousness, for the good of everyone. “Pigeons can’t seem to make the flight between there and Nereida, but rest assured it should take no longer than a few days.”

“What if I don’t hear from you?” Tethys voice croaked softly as she turned to him, hugging him so tightly for a moment he felt his ribs ache. "What will I do?”

“I’ll find a way to contact you, I’m not going to leave you or my child hanging.” He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss, adding, "and if I’m late coming home I’ll egg-watch for the entire month.”

Tethys giggled and nestled against him. She felt torn knowing she would have to let him go, or else they'd never start their journey to the mainland. A few treasured moments passed and she finally withdrew from his embrace. She steeled herself and nodded.

“I’ll see you off then, Jake and Glauce are already down at the boat. Take care, Knarl.”

The Lindworm Chief nodded and shouldered his spear. With an authoritative stride he quickly strode down to the beach where the other two were waiting. Jake had already boarded and Glauce rested on the side of the boat, braving it from accidentally drifting out. The princess gave Knarl a look of concern when she noticed he had a more stony face than usual. She opened her mouth to speak but in response he raised a hand up.

“You don’t need to worry Glauce, Tethys can manage by herself as can the village, now lets get ourselves across the Cynbel Sea!” He tossed his spear into the boat, and by muscle memory Jake caught it without even looking. As she fastened it down for safety, Glauce took this as the sign to also jump in the boat. The Royal girl attempted so the best she could ... and slipped and fell on her rear. The Capilli laughed good-heartedly as she helped her into a seated position.

After checking that they were both ready the Lindworm let the dark aura of his transformative powers envelope him, and with a burst of energy the ivory dragon appeared from the billow of smoke. Looking back to his home he already saw lights flickering in the village - the other villagers were waking up. Turning to face his wife he was greeted with a send-off wave. 

This was it. 

The Lindworm chief fastened the boat with one of his powerful arms and pulled himself into the water. With his mighty tail Knarl began to swim with a deftness unseen by the princess until now. The boat shook with some strain with the first waves as they fought against the crashing waves that surrounded the island. Perseverance paid off as the waves evened out and the ride became less turbulent.

The rain fell as it always did.

“We’re going to make great time if you keep this pace up,” Jake called out over the roar of the water, “I’ve never seen you go this fast before.”

“There’s a deadline this time," said the Lindworm as he surfaced briefly, "I don’t want to keep my wife waiting longer than she needs to.”

Glauce felt guilt gnawing away at her even more than before. Looking back to Nereida Isle it had become so distant that she couldn’t even spot Tethys on the rocky shore. She must have made an audible noise of disdain for Jake scooted up next to her and gave her a solid nudge.

“What’s eating you?” There was actual concern in her voice, which surprised the Royal. It was quite a change from her earlier personality around Glauce when they had been back on the island.

“…I’m afraid I’ve upset everyone," the girl murmured. She looked down to Jake and saw that the Capilli’s eyebrows had risen in surprise to the point where they got lost in her unkempt bangs.

“You haven’t kid, I know these two when they’re upset.” Jake kept her voice hushed. “But you see, these two have barely been apart for lengthy times in the past decade. They know that getting you back to Central City is very important and want to ensure you’ll get there safely, but they can’t forsake their own child so one’s got to stay behind.” She relit her mint roll and idly watched the end smoke. “I’ll be honest with you Glauce, Knarl is really stretching his neck out for you- in both senses. I think it would be in good intentions if you talked to your mother and grandmother about compensating him.”

Glauce almost snapped back, suspecting immediately that the red-clad woman was trying to squeeze a reward for her own gain, but caught herself and shut her mouth. Jake had a point, and something told her that even with how the Capilli had acted that she was not looking out for herself but for her friend and his wife. Jake's mannerisms said it all: she wasn’t smiling and she was only gently tapping the mint roll, letting embers cast to the wind. The pleasant fumes that arose whenever she took a drag from it were hardly enough to lift the grey mood of the air. It was not going to be a joyful boat ride that much was certain. 

Knarl continued his swift swim across the Cynbel Sea. The rocky spires around them became more plentiful the closer they got to the Lemurian shore. Some of the rocky outcrops were not even geological formations; as Glauce watched from the boat she noticed one of the bigger islands had a large eye that followed their movement. Jake caught Glauce gawking in fear and chuckled.

“The uncreatively named Island Fish! Those things are harmless, they’re just big is all, and some people even live on those things as you can see.” She pointed up to a few houses that were perched atop the fish. "Then again Pisceans will live anywhere long as there’s plenty of water.”

“Pisceans live this far out?”

“Yes,” came Knarl's bellow as he raised his head from the waters and started to slow his pace, “Pisceans can live underwater too, the fact that we’re seeing their settlements is good- the coast is not that far off.” At this, the princess strained, trying to spy any Pisceans that might have left their homes to greet the great white dragon swimming through their waters. 

Much like the Lindworms on Nereida Isle, the Piscean Gnomes were just as secluded from the rest of Lemuria, preferring to stay in their own communities rather than dabble with other tribes. Even Jake wasn’t too knowledgeable on their kind; the only reason she got along with the Lindworms was because of her friendship with Knarl. She knew that their wit was just as potent as their magic, and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any of that.

Jake paused in her musings and felt a wave of unease wash over her. The gentle drizzle gave way to a deep mist. It was so thick that even Knarls large form melted into the white expanse. She smote out her mint roll and stashed it.

“You’ll be lucky to catch a glimpse of one," whispered the Lindworm from below, "if there’s one thing mundane thing they’re good at, it’s hiding- especially in the fog.” Knarl couldn’t sense anything was amiss, but the way how it was so quiet unnerved him and his horns billowed out. “It’s always like this near the coast. The mist is thicker than usual though.”

The princess rubbed her face and grimaced. It was so humid that water was practically sticking to her, as if the rain had never stopped. She hoped for a breeze or anything to alleviate the humidity of the area. Then she remembered something else abruptly.

“This is near where I was chased by the Owls," she cried, shrinking back a little at the memory. “I was on the shore and they swooped down from the forest without a warning”

“Well you needn’t worry," Knarl assured her as he slowed his pace in the shallower waters, “we will fend them off just like we did last time.”

“Maybe we’ll even chase them this time since we’re prepared for anything.” Jake grinned at the idea, throwing a few punches at the air before her. "Teach them all a good lesson.”

Glauce slouched back into the boat as she watched the skies. "I don’t want to get involved with them again if I had any say in it.” Once had been more than enough. Still, it was reassuring to have her two traveling companions with her lest anything were to happen.

They pressed on through the misty bank, and through silence save for the ocean waves licking at the cliff sides. It seemed that small talk wasn’t going to be a thing for a while. Glauce felt her heart chill as she thought she caught a glimpse of something dark flying overhead. Keeping her eyes peeled the shadow never appeared again - she tried to shrug it off as nerves. 

Jake noticed how the girl was more antsy than usual and took it upon herself to pull out a mint leaf from her pocket, nudging the royal with it. "I use these to smoke, but outside of that mint’s not bad for calming nerves and keeping you from getting seasick.” She gave Glauce another nudge. "It’s perfectly safe, long as you don’t smoke it you’re not going to get any bad habits.”

“Are you giving her mint Jake?”

“ _I am_ , you want me to shove a leaf up your nose while I’m at it?” the Capilli retorted with a guffaw. "Might be a nice change of pace from all this brine we’re smelling.”

“For once you're not blaming the sea smell on me! I’m flattered." Knarl chuckled in tandem to Jake’s “compliment". While they both relaxed Glauce took the leaf from Jake and uttered a gentle thank you. She took a deep breath and felt the menthol of the mint calm her nerves. The royal took a few more deep breaths and withdrew the plant.

“If you want you can even crumble it up," Jake added as she went about fastening her pockets, "the oils are pretty good for further calming." In the mist it was even easier to see the glowing light that extended from her head and bobbled like a spirit in the white haze. Glauce took a good look at the mint leaf.

“Mint is a commodity for the Capilli right?” she asked, rubbing the leaf with her thumb and index finger idly. "We have mint tea back in Central City but it’s nothing compared to the quality of what you have.”

“I mean, I guess," Jake replied. She noticed the spines on Knarls head had begun to relax; perhaps idle chat was something welcomed by everyone right now. “Most of what we’re known for is our distilleries and pipe tobacco, although mint works just as well if you ask me.” She shrugged. She knew well Glauce's disapproval of her people's practice of setting up breweries on long abandoned places of worship.

Perhaps the sea air and forest of pines back on Nereida Isle had overwhelmed her sense of smell, but it was just then that Glauce noticed just how heavy of a mint aroma surrounded Jake. She wondered if, given how Jake had to use the boat whenever she went out to sea with Knarl, that it was the boat itself that also smelled of mint. At least it wasn’t as heady as some of the perfumes and cologne the Bolmus Populi and Royals wore. Having had her fun with rubbing the leaf Glauce instead struck the sprig about her ear and wore it like one would a flower. Jake raised an eyebrow at the little action but figured whatever made the Royal at ease was nothing to fret over.

The mist however refused to lift as they pressed on. Knarl narrowed his eyes against the mist and sea breeze; there was barely fifty feet's worth of visibility given the weather. His horns bristled out again as he sensed movement and he lowered his head- his movement enough to let the other two know that something was up.

“Who goes there?” a voice that sounded as if it had a mouthful of water called out to the three. Knarl’s horns once again relaxed and he rolled his eyes.

“Cabezon, you don’t know a Lindworm when you see one?” the Chief’s voice was rather booming as he addressed their unseen inquirer in the mist. "If I’ve stumbled into your front lawn by accident please let me know.”

The voice's owner cleared their throat and a figure walked out from the mist into their view. A Piscean in waterproofed hide stood with a green hued hand in front of his face, a white elemental spirit providing light within the fog as it floated in his outstretched palm. Cabezon had the distinct features of the Piscean Gnomes; green skin, reeds that functioned cosmetically as hair, claws, bare feet that ended in talons, and a long leafy tail. A distinct outcrop of thorns on his brow made him look more like a mountain goat rather than the reptilian beast he was. He eyed them silently and withdrew his light bearing claw, letting the elemental float at his side.

“You picked a bad time to come through the Flooded Plains Knarl, this mist has been making it hard for anyone to get anything done out here.”

“Is that so?” Knarl leaned in and pushed the boat closer to where Cabezon stood. The Piscean was comically dwarfed by the great dragon as the latter continued to speak. "I felt like I was imagining that the mist was thicker than normal, it’s been awhile since I’ve gone through here after all.”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is. It began to get almost impossible to traverse in these conditions. Everyone for right now has shut themselves up in their homes out of paranoia.”

“You’re one of the better mages here, can’t you do anything?” Jake called out from the boat, clearly unimpressed that they’d all take to shutting themselves in.

“Hmph, if only it was that simple. Fortunately this mist appears to have no harmful qualities save for it being thick. No one in the town has fallen ill or succumbed to anything else. Those who have ventured out into the mist have also returned, as it stands its more of an annoyance than a threat. What is making everyone concerned is how permanent the blasted stuff's become.” Cabezon looked over his shoulder in the direction that Knarl had been heading before his interruption. “But I can advise you that if you keep going this way you’ll not run into any sea cliffs or coral reefs. If you want, I can let Encen guide you until you reach the shore - it’s not far from here.”

“Any help would be appreciated, we are on a strict schedule as is.” The dragon bowed to the mage in thanks.

“Alright then Encen, you can handle it from here," said Cabezon, turning to the light elemental that had up until that moment remained silent.

“If light is what you need, then I’ll give you plenty of it.” The elemental's voice was very childlike in contrast to the elder mage. “Just follow me!”

The Lindworm nodded and the elemental flew off ahead of him. Giving the Piscean one last thank you the dragon swam after the energetic light spirit, boat in tow.

“That’s a pretty big elemental,” Glauce noted as they once again began to make headway, “the ones Grandmother and Lumia have are no bigger than chicken eggs.”

“You see that’s because the Pisceans are actually good at magic,” Jake commented with a smarmy grin, “although I don’t blame you Royals for not knowing. Anyone outside of Central City and Lemuria's mainland really don’t dabble in your affairs.” She pulled herself up and whilst keeping her grin, ruffled the girl's hair.

“I swear Jake one day you’re going to get your due.” The princess gave the Capilli a sour look as she slowly made her way to the front of the boat.

“When that day comes I’ll give you the best mint I have on hand. How’s that for a promise?” The mousey haired woman looked back and graced Glauce with a playful wink. “That’s a pretty good deal honestly.”

“Deal.” Jake might have been insufferable, but the more she thought about it the more Glauce welcomed how goofy the woman was, especially now. “Knarl!” she called out to the dragon who was still following the elemental diligently. "How much farther until we hit shore?”

“Funny you should ask that.” He raised his head and brought the boat around so that it was in front of him. “If the mist lets up here, we should have an answer shortly.”

Glauce scanned the mist for any signs of a beach, fighting the urge to grab Jake’s angler bulb to light her search. Encen concentrated his own light and with a brilliant flash expelled some of the mist that surrounded them.

“A little bit more should do it!” he called out to the dragon.

A grunt of affirmation from Knarl and seconds later the boat was propelled with a force that made it skim over the waves. There was a pair of shouts from the boat, both women grabbing tightly onto the hull's sides as they tore across the water. The mist billowed away as the boat gained ground and the sun shone through.

“Knarl I’m gonna kill you!” Jake screeched as she fell backwards from the force of the boat hitting an oncoming wave. There was an echoing laugh as the Lindworm passed by them and eased the boat to a halt.

“Now wasn’t that fun?” Knarl's encircled the boat so that his body blocked it from oncoming waves.

“Fun? You could have had one of us get run through your stupid spear if I hadn’t fastened it down earlier!” Jake gave a haggard breath as she tried to calm herself. She saw Glauce looking over at her with saucer-sized eyes and a pursed mouth that made her look like a grumpy frog. "And look! You gave her a fright! She can’t even talk!”

Glauce’s stony expression soon softened, and widened into a smile that was akin to someone who had just heard the best joke in existence.

“Did you hear yourself just now Jake?! That was the funniest thing I’ve ever heard, _ever_.” The princess laughed uncontrollably to the point where tears welled in her eyes, much to Jake’s chagrin.

“Okay hah-hah very funny. We all had a great laugh at my expense.” The Capilli crossed her arms and huffed but was immediately nudged in jest by Knarl's tremendous snout.

“I would like to draw your attention to what the mist had been veiling until now.” His voice went from his almost booming roar to a softer tone.

Looking to where he had motioned Glauce was greeted with a sight that she could now enjoy in tranquility with the others. A good arrow shot away was a rocky beach that soon gave way to a forest of willows and other dense trees that could be found in arbors. The air was cooler than it was in the Flooded Plain and back in Nereida Isle. In the distance they could spot a monolithic statue of the Explorer Mathildis serenely playing a harp. Mathildis Forest was now the only thing between the traveling band and Central City.

“We’re in Lemuria now," Glauce sighed, her heart beaming in relief.


	6. Mathildis Forest

“It’s just as green as Nereida Isle, not as rainy though.” Knarl found himself wincing from the sun since the mist had dissipated behind them. “Back there took a few good hours, but here - we might see ourselves in Central City by nightfall.”

“Thank Goodness.” The princess felt her nerves further relax as the Lindworm pushed the boat towards the shore. It ran aground steadily and leaned to the side enough for the two passengers to step out.

Encen gave a gentle sigh and looked to the white dragon; the weariness in his little beady eyes said everything. “I must head back before Cabezon thinks I’ve left him for your troop.” The light elemental was clearly exhausted, drained from purging all the mist in Knarl's way earlier. “I wish you all the best.”

“Cabezon surely knows you are more loyal than that,” Knarl replied, lowering his head in respect to the elemental. “Send him my regards. Before you go, Jake, may you-“

“Got you covered,” chirped the Capilli as she pulled a branch out of one of her satchels, holding it up so Encen had a clear shot of it. The branch which seconds ago seemed like an ordinary twig, became aglow with a blue light akin to Encen's. The elemental floated down and flew around the light in a way that it became enveloped in his illuminating aura, shining brilliantly before the twig's glow faded away. Jake smiled. “How does that feel Encen?”

“I feel like a new elemental!" squeaked the ball of light, beaming brightly. "I’ll be able to make the trip back in a jiffy. Take care everyone!” And just like that he zoomed back into the mist enshrouding the way they had come. Glauce watched where the elemental had vanished with a perplexed silence; noticing this, Jake took it upon herself to educate the girl.

“Ain't you ever seen a wish branch before?” The Capilli held the stick out so the princess could get a better look at it. "They grow in the wilds more than they do in the towns. From what I can tell they don’t grow anywhere on Nereida Isle, nor in Europe at all for that matter.”

“What was that blue light that the elemental took from it?” Glauce took the branch gently and looked it over. It completely surprised her that such an ordinary branch held some kind of restorative power for elemental familiars.

“Well, wherever Elementals come from, they need constant light to survive or else they burn out," Knarl chipped in. "Most folk who call upon Elementals have some kind of magic up their sleeves, and keep a small amount of wish branches in their home if they know they’re going to be keeping an Elemental Familiar. The light from wish branches is the same as the light where Encen's kind come from. That’s what they say anyway.”

“The light in the branches comes back too," added Jake as she gently took the branch back, "just like if you plucked a fruit and waited for it to eventually regrow. Why this plant of all things has such a magical property is outta my understanding, but they’re pretty good as makeshift torches if you’re worried you’ll otherwise set fire to your surroundings."

“You say that as if that very thing happened in the past.” Glauce noted with a smirk.

“Look, spider webs are everywhere and highly flammable, it could have happened to anyone.” Jake coughed, waving a hand in a dismissive manner. "Let’s get a move on or it’s going to be nightfall at the rate you two are moving.”

Knarl watched Jake walk off into the forest with the faintest hint of a smile curling on his lips. He decided to morph back into his human form and took the supplies Jake had left in the boat as well as his spear. Taking a rope and fastening it to one of the cleats, he pulled the dory behind him with little effort until it was well out of tidal range. Noticing that Glauce had once again fallen silent he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder once he was done.

“If you want the truth, she’s actually set things on fire accidentally more than once. It’s one reason she prefers flint over fire magic.” His smile held bemusement, but belied an earnest appreciation of his friend as well . "You’ve probably guessed it these past few days but despite her, um, loud personality she really does care.”

“She has a funny way of going about it," Glauce agreed. She decided to best to start walking while they chatted. "You know, it might be a bit personal, but does she have any friends aside from you and Tethys?”

“It’s odd, for as much talking as Jake does, she really doesn’t talk much about the Capilli Village or anyone in her family.” He wasn’t the kind to really pry into others personal affairs - after all he got most of that information from Jake asking those questions to whoever they came across. “I figure if she wants to talk about something, she’ll do it. Trust me, if she wants you to know something you’re definitely going to hear about it.”

“I’m surprised she doesn’t talk in her sleep for how much she does when she’s awake.” Glauce kept an eye out on their third companion who stuck out like a sore thumb, given her crimson attire in the middle of the deep green forest.

Sand gave way to a damp soil as they pressed on into Mathildis Forest. The humidity of the Flooded Plains was lost in favor of a cooler windy climate. Overhead trees blotted out the sun to the point where only the smallest specks of light were seen through the canopies. Birds and woodland creatures made idle chatter, paying no heed to the three momentary intruders upon their land.

Jake's lead was soon encroached upon by the others, and she slowed her quick stride slowed to match theirs. Rolling her shoulders she took a glance up at the trees, her lure light shining brightly. "It’s been only a few weeks but I welcome this sight.” Glauce couldn't help but notice that when Jake spoke, she seemed to be addressing Knarl more than her.

“Nereida Isle isn’t known for its tall trees, but aren’t there even bigger ones past Mathildis Forest?” Knarl had come to the mainland a few times but hadn’t gone past the great forest that the Capilli and Aerostrati called home. Central City was past Mathildis Forest and right before the greater mountains that separated Lemuria from the rest of the European Continent. The Palace of the Explorers, from what Jake had told him prior, was only a few kilometers away from Central City; it would probably be their final destination before heading back.

“There are some trees, the Altitudo, that have grown so high their tops are lost in the clouds." Glauce gazed up towards the treetops as she mused on what she'd been taught. "If anyone’s seen them it’s probably been my Grandmother and the dragons that live in the Cliffs of Rambert.”

“Oh the Moon Dragons?” Jake finally shifted her attention to Glauce. "I’ve only seen a few while I’ve traveled but every time has been a treat. It’s like they know they always have an audience; I’ve never seen any animal put on a show like they do when they fly.”

The Royal responded with a nod. “They form spirals in the air when they fly, despite their lengthy bodies they can stay airborne for quite a long time.”

“Yes, and if push comes to shove they can use those unwieldy claws to try and clutch and throw whatever’s got the misfortune of being targeted by them..." Jake trailed off from her rambling, noticing that the other two were eying her suspiciously. “What? It was one time! And the snappy fella didn't even appreciate the value of the occuli he had as cave decorations. What was I supposed to do, leave them there?”

“You could have asked,” Glauce noted, with a sigh of great exasperation. She leaned forward until she practically loomed over the Capilli.

“Eh, not my style. Maybe if I have some free time next I’m in Central City I can hit you up for practice on proper dragon etiquette, since you decided to make a Euro Dragon your astral forme. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like you’re on your way to being launched across the forest.”

“If you do I’ll need to compare your record to Tethys, so I can tell her just how much stronger she is than a little Royal Descendant.”

Glauce choked in embarrassment, caught off guard. “You!” Knarl could only watch on in bemusement as the princess gave chase to the fleeing, cackling older woman. He knew Jake well enough that this would probably end in that kind of laughter where your sides hurt and tears well in your eyes. He shook his head and followed after them with the same walking pace he’d been using before.

Their chase took them a good distance further into the forest. The trees were thicker and the foliage near the path was more overgrown. The chill of the sea breeze was soon replace by the faint smell of pine, and the condensation from the mist-filled air gave Mathildis Forest a different kind of chilly atmosphere.

Though Jake was rather dexterous and therefore able to duck under fallen trees along the path, Glauce’s strides were much longer than hers. The Traveler caught up to the Capilli in no time and the latter sensed it. Turning in place and slowing down to a halt Jake ended up going from a smug stature to nearly being bowled over by the grey girl.

“Okay, well, you almost flattened me. Guess that counts for something.” Jake was perilously close to being run over but still had the gumption to make a quip. Glauce on the other hand steadied herself from falling atop the shorter woman and kept her glower.

“I’ll get you back.”

“I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard that in my life, especially from you,” Jake cackled with a haughty wink. “I gotta say though, you can sprint pretty well. Guess all that work on the island really did something for you.” 

Glauce took a deep breath to calm herself before she resumed walking down the forest path ahead of her companion, trying to shut off the veiled compliment. “You... really think so?”

“I reckon.” Jake nearly had to jog to keep up with the Princess. “Although if you allow me, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What would that be? Where’s Knarl?” It was clear that the rambunctious duo had ran far ahead of him.

“No, that isn’t it. He can find us easily.” Jake ran ahead and stopped in from of Glauce, barring her way and causing her to halt her pace. “It's been on my mind since we’ve set foot in Lemuria." She took a breath. "Why couldn't you just transform back into your dragon-self and fly back to Central City? You saw how distressed Knarl looked about leaving his wife.”

Glauce was taken aback by the question. Usually Jake was very abrupt even during her more comforting moments. To hear this passionate critique made her blush, embarrassed.

“I just... wanted to make sure that I could get home ok." Anxiously she clutched her left arm and grimaced, "What if more Owls or something even bigger attacked me, without you two by my side?”

The girl was met with silence. Jake made a noise that sounded like a muffled growl, shaking her head. The Capilli wasn't happy with the explanation, but she felt like further interrogation would have to wait for later despite how much she hated it. Jake folded her arms and stared the Royal in the eyes.

“If that’s the case, then at least fly us to Central City and cut our travel time by a good length. I’m sure Knarl will appreciate it.”

The other girl felt her tongue knot itself at being put on spot, but Jake was right. There was nothing stopping her from turning into her dragon forme and taking them to the center of Lemuria. The fact that it had slipped her mind, despite having taken her draconic forme so many times on Nereida Isle, was proof that she really hadn’t thought her plan through...

“I was beginning to think the two of you were going to run all the way to Central City.” Knarl's soothing voice from behind them dispersed the tension a little, and they turned to greet him. As the chieftain made his way around one of the many twists of the trail towards the Capilli and the princess, he noticed the two were engaged in something of a stand-off. He tried to not roll his eyes. To him, it looked like Jake had somehow caused yet another confrontation of sorts. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Jake just asked me why once we arrived on the shore that I just didn’t transform and take you over the forest. It was a valid question. I, I’m sorry for not thinking about it earlier before we even left the island.” Glauce rubbed her cheek and felt the heat in her face intensifying.

Knarl knew that his companion was only looking out for him. But knowing Jake, her manner of doing it was usually so direct that it ended up hurting situations as much as helping. He gave Jake a knowing look, signalling that he was going to handle it from here.

“Now, my friend might have a point Glauce,” he said, looking down at the girl with a patient and understanding air, "but it’s up to you if you want to transform or not. After all, I volunteered when we could have instead rowed the boat across the Cynbel Sea.”

Jake opened her mouth, wanting to point out Knarl's ludicrous strength even in human form and what short work that would have made of a rowing trip anyhow; a sharp side-eye from Knarl told her the better of it.

“My Lindworm self is much bigger though," Knarl continued, "and pushing a boat isn’t as taxing as carrying two bodies and supplies on your smaller frame. While you are bigger than any Traveler-“

“My dragon size is rather puny, I know.” As a dragon Glauce only reached the tops of the huts back on Nereida; the multi-storied buildings in Central City and in other parts of Lemuria were a completely different story. “Even though Jake is smaller than you, you make up for her and then some.” She rubbed her cheek again.

“Trust me, I know that while both my forms are bulky and built like a fortress they both have their downfalls.” Knarl didn’t think his weight would rend Glauce flightless but it sure would put a strain on her.

“Too bad there’s no river nearby, I could fly on Glauce and you could just swim to Central City," the Capilli piped in.

“In what region of the world is there a river wide and deep enough to accommodate a Lindworm, Jake?” Knarl was unimpressed that Jake had come up with such a goofy solution. Before he could continue to brainstorm over a good solution, the Princess spoke up.

“If I carry you, may we stop a few times on our way to Central City so that I can catch my breath? Even if I take breaks I’m sure that with me flying we’ll get there before sunset rather than after nightfall.”

The princess took on such authoritative manner that she surprised the other two completely. Jake smiled. “That’s only a few hours difference... but I’m sure that Knarl’ll be over the moon about that.” Any bit of good news would lighten the mood! she knew. Looking at the other two she had slowly begun to realize that she had been the cause of all this tension. Hopefully this proposal would alleviate it all and return things to normal between the three of them.

“It’s a sound plan," said Knarl, nodding in agreement, "but once again it falls onto Glauce if she wants to go through with it. If anything, I can just pick you two up and sprint there if it comes down to it.” 

Even though Knarl spoke in jest, Glauce still felt like she owed it to him and Jake to pull through with her offer. Her mind was all but made up. "There won’t be any problem doing it. Like I said, if I can take little breaks, I’ll go ahead and fly you there.”

With that, the Princess took a few steps away from the other two and called upon her magic. The dark aura of transformation enveloped her as she twisted and morphed towards her larger form. The magic dissipated and in her place once again was the grey dragon that had only a week ago swooped down into the coast of Nereida. She turned a little in place and plodded the ground in that one nervous manner she always did. “Ready when you are.”

“Remember now," pleaded Knarl, "if at any point you start to feel yourself being strained, land at once. I don’t want you hurting yourself." The Royal grunted an affirmative, lowering her head for the chief to climb atop. There was a loud cough from their side.' Jake was making strange cutting motions above her head in a rather grumpy manner. It took Glauce a moment before she understood and had to suppress a chortle. The poor woman's height! Too small to climb aboard.

Knarl shrugged and without blinking, he picked up the Capilli - Jake have quite a yelp at this - and plonked her down in front of him, like a parent planting their child on a pony. 

Jake tucked her legs in on either side of Glauce’s lengthy neck and glowered at the Lindworm. "You never get tired of doing that do you?”

“I think it gets funnier every time I do it honestly.” As he took a seat behind Jake, Knarl made sure to hold his spear carefully so as to not inhibit Glauce's flight. “I think we’re both set here, we’re ready when you are Glauce."

“Alright, this might be a little wobbly at first," the Princess warned , "I’ve never given anyone a ride before.” As she found her footing with her new weight, she started off in a trot, and upon steadying herself on the forest path she broke into a run. Even while, on the ground the dragon proved a far more rapid method of transport, yet the bouncing motion was enough to make Jake wince: her multilayered outfit was going to mean death by chafing for her, if Glauce didn’t take to the sky soon.

“I’m enjoying the horseback ride but do you think you might raise your altitude sometime?” Jake called out, over the tromping of the dragon's ivory claws. A snort answered her and the body of the dragon dipped down before springing up and aloft into the air. The two riders flattened themselves and shut their eyes as Glauce crashed through the weaker branches of the tree canopies and skywards. Light rained down on them as they broke through the top of the forest; the sun was still relatively high and bright, meaning that they still had a good while before nightfall.

Glauce leveled out her ascent and she began to glide amongst the treetops idly. The wind was manageable but to her surprise, she found Jake cursing. The Capilli, holding on tight with one hand, was busy fumbling away with her free hand through her many pockets. 

Knarl seemed to notice it too. "Jake?" he said with a trace of concern, "what're you up to now?"

“Well if we’re going to be riding," came the woman's reply," "one of us better have a clear view of everything.” She pulled a battered set of goggles from her bag, motioning to her companion to lend a spare hand to help her don them.

Knarl couldn't resist a smirk. "If you accidentally catch your bulb with this it’s your fault.”

“Like I'm going to give you that opportunity to laugh at me! Hmph."

“Are you two okay back there?” Glauce called out against the wind as the others fidgeted around. After a moment there was an audible snapping sound and grumpy expletive as Jake's googles locked into place.

“We’re good, I was just setting myself up to be an extra set of eyes for you," the Capilli answered. As she got back to her riding position, Knarl hugged her from behind and huffed.

“Remember do to things like this when we’re on the ground," the chief chided. "I won’t want you falling off. As much as I trust Glauce I doubt she’s aerodynamic enough to catch something falling, especially when she’s got a Lindworm weighing her down.”

“Sorry,” said Jake, realizing her own folly, “I didn’t think about it until we were up here. It’s not everyday you get to ride around on a dragon. Ah, I mean an airborne dragon anyway.”

“I understand.” Knarl adjusted himself and lay a hand on the woman's shoulder, his touch and tone half cheeky, half heavy with caring. “You know, I’m just looking out for you.”

“You always do a good job doing it.” Jake finally felt herself relaxing from the earlier conversation. Deciding to do what she said she would for Glauce, she scanned the area around them with her goggled eyes now safe from the wind.

The forest canopy was now far below, and the majestic Altitudo Trees that pierced far higher through even the clouds above them greeted her. Narrowing her eyes, Jake could even see that near the pillar-like trunks, sky water cascaded down in the waterfalls known to contribute to the dank humidity of Mathildis Forest. She had wondered countless times before just what was above the clouds that water could so steadily fall from. The air was chill at the height they were flying at and condensation formed on her goggles. Snorting, she rubbed them just as a shout raked the skies around them. 

Glauce gave an garbled shout of surprise that seemed more like a knowing exclamation, as if she immediately understood what had just happened. Knarl tucked his legs against the scales of her back as they came to an abrupt halt in the air. The grey dragon's wing beats as they hovered seemed jittery with fear.

“What is it Glauce?” Knarl shouted. He felt the need to ready his spear at a moment;s notice. Throwing his weapon from the back of a dragon would be no no more difficult than throwing it from a boat, given how the waves made his footing rocky.

Adjusting her goggles, Jake looked ahead of them. The sight she was met with turned her heart abruptly to ice.

A great beast - a fellow dragon to be precise - was flying at them with deft speed. The dark purple feathers of its wings bristled against the wind and the cruel beak of its face snapped in annoyance against the chill. Its long whip of a tail cracked behind it. The beast seemed to have spotted the them not a moment before being seen in return. It tucked its legs in and quickened its flight towards them.

“Knarl," gasped Jake, "what are we gonna do?” Never had she seen a dragon like this one before. Meatier than a Moon Dragon, and feathered ... No such dragon had ever been talked about in the European continent, nor in all of her travels across Lemuria. The shock was beginning to sink in that she was now starring down a monster never seen before in her life.

And it was flying straight at them.

“We might have to flee," Knarl called, a great urgency gripping his voice. "If anything we could head down into the forest and we might be able to lose it. If worse comes to worst I can overwhelm it with my Lindworm form from down there.” But as he tried to think of a further plan on spot Knarl realized that Glauce hadn't moved; she continued to hover defenselessly as the vile looking dragon gained on them every second.

“Glauce, what are you doing?” Jake kicked at her sides as the other dragon closed in. "It’s going to be on top of us in a minute!”

“Hold on,” the Royal replied briskly. Turning her head back the sails that functioned as her ears perked up and she took a deep breath. “I might be able to handle this. Don’t try to attack her or anything or she might get the wrong idea about you two.”

_She?_ Glauce knew the other dragon? Jake pursed her lips and figured it best to trust the princess. Feeling Knarl’s arms relax it looked like he had already resolved to entrusted his safety to their little drake mount. The two friends watched with baited breath as the other dragon unfurled her wings to stop before them, a few yards away.

The intruder hissed, circling them warily with ragged, gliding wing beats. She narrowed her brilliant red eyes which bore through them silent judgment, and Knarl swore he saw the dragons beak frown in disapproval. Glauce held her head high, silent with respect, as the trio were looked up and down intensely for awhile more before the other dragon spoke.

“I wasn’t expecting to find you out here, much less carrying common folk on your back.” The feathered dragon hovered in front of them with her head mimicking how Glauce held hers. “But I am happy that my hopeful excursion has reunited me with you.”

Her voice was hard to read. On one hand - whoever she was - she seemed elated to have found Glauce. But at the same time there was a oozing aura of disgust from that same voice. Jake knew that Travelers sometimes didn’t hold other Tribes in high regard, but she felt downright insulted to be addressed as if she and Knarl were some kind of vermin. The Capilli fought to hold back a snarky retort, knowing that she might pay for it by being knocked out of the sky.

“Thank you, I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t see you until night fell.” Glauce bowed her head and closed the distance between them, bumping her snout against the beak of the other dragon. “I missed you, mother.”


	7. The Palace of Explorers

_Wait. Mother?_ Jake found herself so surprised that she abandoned all thoughts of questioning the stranger.

The other dragon's feathers bristled once more. She kept her firm stare on the two companions astride Glauce’s back as she spoke. "It is a relief to have you back, but we must fly back to the Palace of the Explorers at once. You can leave your "friends" here.” The way how she enunciated "friends" with such a contemptuous drawl grated on even Knarl the wrong way; as much as he wanted to return to Nereida, he suddenly was overcome with the need to see Glauce back to the palace himself. He knew that up until now Jake had been trying to find any means to speed their trip up, but he would have to put his foot down for now and explain his reasoning later to his friend.

“I’m sorry Your Highness, Umbra was it?” Knarl called out from behind Jake, drawing their attention. "I promised your daughter that I would see her all the way home. It would be in my best wishes if I could fulfill that promise for her.”

“Yeah, and you don’t want to make a Lindworm angry," Jake muttered darkly. She'd already gained a bad first impression of the Royal Traveler; now she began to wonder if there was a reason there wasn’t much mention of Umbra on the grapevine.

There was silence from the dark dragon, and for a moment it looked like there was venom in her eye aimed right at the Lindworm Chief. However Umbra nodded and motioned idly to a nearby clearing within the forest below.

“Very well. Glauce, if you may land there and take your Traveler forme, I shall transport you all back to the Castle in due haste. I am certain that you all have matters of your own to take care of so if you can keep your time in the palace to a minimum, I would appreciate it.” Umbra didn’t even wait for a reply as she dove down to where she had directed them.

Jake gave a loud exhale and shook her head. "Not very friendly is she?” She tapped the back scales of Glauce’s neck absentmindedly as their dragon friend swooped after her mother down to where she was waiting.

“She’s very standoffish to people she doesn’t know. Maybe you both looked suspicious to her?” Glauce knew that Umbra had… “views” on some of the tribes in Lemuria, but she had never seen her this antagonistic before.

“I’m sure she’s seen plenty of Capilli in the city,” reasoned Knarl. He had the suspicion that it was strictly him whom she disapproved of, for whatever reason he wasn’t sure. “Maybe she’ll just have to get used to a Lindworm being around her for awhile.”

Glauce landed with a thud next to Umbra and sat down to let the two disembark. She readily transformed back and with a grunt rolled her shoulders, but caught herself as Umbra narrowed her eyes at her.

“Princesses don’t carry themselves like that.”

“I wasn’t used to carrying passengers on my back is all, I won’t make a habit of it.” The girl replied. Jake noticed that Glauce was degenerating back into that shy timid girl who they had first met in the Cynbel Sea. Interesting... the Capilli reminded herself to take note of it once they arrived at the Palace.

Umbra gave no response of compassion but moved into a sitting posture so that the three of them could climb aboard. Knarl cupped his hands together to provide a footrest as Glauce and Jake went before him. He nearly slid off as Umbra didn’t even wait for him to find his balance before taking off. Knarl quickly seized hold of the feathers that adorned Umbras back to keep himself from being flung off, and was met with a low hiss of pain.

“Watch what you’re doing!”

“There's others along for the ride, you know, please consider that.” Knarl fought the urge to pluck some of the dragon's feathers. "It's one thing to ride around in a boat you’re strapped to, and another to ride bareback on a dragon.”

There was an uffish snort from the Traveller. Jake's face formed a massive grin that she was relieved Umbra couldn’t see. Glauce only seemed to shrink back and wrapped her arms around her mothers neck, making no effort to speak up.

It was made very obvious that Umbra had used her dragon form more than Glauce ever had. Though they had soared with a steady pace on the grey dragon, the sleek frame of Umbra's feathered form was vastly more aerodynamic. The way they cut along above the treetops with little resistance reminded Jake of how the Moon Dragons could deftly fly through the air with the greatest of speeds.

The feathers beneath Jake's hands were cool and rigid; there were so many of them that she couldn’t even feel the scaly body that was beneath them. Something told the Capilli that despite the multitude of feathers, Umbra would feel the slightest tug of one being plucked - how she had reacted to Knarls frantic groping was evidence enough.

The flight towards the heart of Lemuria was a silent one. Glauce had clammed up to the point where the other two wondered if she had fallen asleep for a good minute. Jake felt a sour taste develop in her mouth and the joints in her hands started to ache; it was a nervous tick she always got when she was out of her comfort zone, which was rare.

Knarl was stoic the entire way. Silently he brooded over what to do once they landed. He knew that some Lindworms had ventured to the main Lemurian continent but they were few and far between, and had only gone for short excursions. He told himself he ought to brace for unwanted looks and attention once they arrived.

On and on they flew. Glauce felt Jake fidget behind her,and she wondered if the Capilli was getting stressed out over not being able to run her mouth. The Princess would have welcomed any conversation as the clammy silence coupled with her mothers quiet judgment made her even more anxious.

Not a word from the four of them was uttered as Central City rose into view. Nestled between be outskirts of Mathildis Forest and Cliffs of Rambert, Lemuria’s largest city was an alabaster monument amongst the wilds of nature around it. Multistoried buildings layered across one another and brilliant colored banners flew in the steady wind. From where they flew they could even hear the hustle and bustle of the immense populace living and commuting in the city.

Umbra shifted her trajectory and they turned before they flew over the bustling town. Instead the party found themselves flying for the castle that was perched atop a giant crag just outside the city’s limits. Mirroring the waterfalls that cascaded from the sky were rivers that poured from the base of the castle. Against the green and blacks of forest and earth stood the white stone that made up the Palace of the Explorers. Prominent spires jutted from the main bastion of the castle and countless stone gargoyles and golems adorned its walls and pathways. While Jake had always seen it from afar during her ventures through Lemuria, this was the closest she had ever been to it.

For one of the rare moments in her life, she felt terribly humbled.

“Queen Luna will want to speak with you, and perhaps with your friends as well since they were with you when I found you," Umbra declared as she stretched her wings out to land. There was a dull thud against earth as she landed in the middle of the castle; the walls surrounding them seemed to loom in on all sides and gave the impression they were more within a prison than a palace.

A band of sentries garbed in black with the emblem of Cynbel's Sun ran to meet the feathered dragon as she allowed the party to dismount. Knarl helped the two women off and there was a growl of relief as Umbra turned in place to greet the leader of the unit receiving them.

“Your Highness! You’ve found the Princess!” The leader bowed his head in respect to the sleek dragon that towered over them. "Lumia's search proved fruitless, she will be returning with the sunset. Both she and Queen Luna will be relieved to know what Glauce has returned to us.”

“Yes, the Queen will finally be able to rest knowing that her granddaughter has been found safe and unharmed. It seems that these two had a hand in bringing her to Mathildis Forest from wherever she had originally ended up. But please excuse us, Luna must know immediately.” As Umbra addressed the band the dark aura surrounded her like it did whenever the others used their transformative powers. When it dissipated, in the place of the feathered and regal dragon stood a tall, gaunt woman with raven black hair and sharp eyes. Her feathered dress reflected the draconian form she used. Knarl suppressed at smirk at seeing the woman was barefoot just like her daughter. Perhaps the Royals preferred not to have footwear; he couldn’t say anything though, being without shoes himself for the moment.

Glauce stood obediently at her mother's side as the other two waited while Umbra finished addressing the guards and dismissing them. As they dispersed there was a barked order from Umbra herself directed at them.

“What are you two doing? You are to meet with Luna at once. The Queen loathes to be kept waiting.” Hearing how harsh Umbra's words were made Glauce blush in embarrassment over how her friends were being addressed.

“Most certainly your loudness.” Taking her goggles off, Jake couldn't help but throw with a gutsy reply against Umbra’s snobbish behavior.

“Come again?”

“It was nothing." Jake waved a hand dismissively and stood between Knarl and the antagonistic woman. A smile snuck onto her face once more as she noticed just how she could play the situation. "But! Considering that neither my friend nor I have ever been to the Palace of the Explorers before, it would really be in your best interest to guide us yes? I don’t think the Queen will really appreciate it if you lost the people who saved her granddaughter now would she?”

Even Knarl's eyes widened at how forward Jake was being. Thankfully Glauce mustered her courage at seeing her friend standing up against her mother's authoritarianism, and spoke up as well.

“Jake has a point Mother. If you lead the way for us instead of just assumed my they know where to go, I think it will look good for you too as well as help them out.” Her voice didn’t gain the singsong confidence that Jake's had but she felt better knowing they were nearby.q

Umbra looked between them, her face forming the bitter grimace of someone in physical pain. Inhaling deeply, she nodded and clasped her hands together.

“My daughter is right, I will escort you to the throne room, but stay close as I will not come back for you and your inadequacy will reflect on the Queen. Understood?”

There was a flurry of nodding from the Lindworm and Capilli. Without another word Umbra walked past them and towards one of the larger sets of doors leading inside the palace. Knarl strode behind her, followed by the others; while they couldn’t talk all that much given how quickly the Royal was leading them, he figured his presence would be prominent enough so that if the other two fell behind they could easily spot him.

Umbra stopped short of the doors and looked side to side in an impatient manner. Two identical golems stood to attention, flanking and barring their path. It looked like it would take quite an effort to move either of them given that they were carved from solid rock. The guide cleared her throat and motioned to the doors.

“Do you mind?"

Knarl was about to ask just who she was talking to before there was a rattling of stone and grinding of earth, as the two Golems began to move in mirrored poses. They reached towards and clasped the clasped the double door handles; neither gave a grunt of strain as they pulled the doors open for the four of them and then once again assumed their inert posts. Umbra motioned for them to carry on and the others followed. Jake looked over her shoulder in time to see the two stony giants shut the door behind them.

It was exceedingly dark within the palace, although Jake wasn’t surprised. Candlelight from wall mounted candelabras was a rare constant source of light, alongside the occasional patches of light spilling in from windows covered by banners, each depicting the emblems of the realm: the Sigil of Lemuria; and the relics of the Sun, Moon, Apple Blossoms, and Cherry Blossoms. The Sigil was a familiar sight, usually seen as the banner of any scouting team and draped across the flags of Central City and Sky City; but here within the shadowy Palace of the Explorers, it almost looked ominous.

The chill of castle rock was alleviated by the decadent carpets that lined the floor, and tapestries from the world over hung along the walls, chosen and draped with the most precise care. Jake wondered at how the candelabras hadn’t set fire to the entire place yet. Castle staff passed by the group without a word, perhaps too intimidated by Knarl or by Umbra - it was hard to say which it was. After walking within the dim lit hallways for some time, their eyes began to adjust to the darkness; for Jake took this one step further, her angler-light brightening considerably in her effort to take in everything in the gloom.

“If I see your little friend pocketing anything I’ll make sure to snap her light off," Umbra hissed under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Knarl had caught wind of what she muttered to her daughter and he felt his entire being flare up in rare anger.

“Ma’am,” spoke the chieftain, the calmness in his voice masked his contempt for the Royal, “I would like it if you refrained from talking aloud about whatever horrible things you’d like to do to my friend.”

The older Royal deeply inhaled and looked like she was about to scream her head off at the Lindworm. Glauce turned away in her unending embarrassment as her mother seethed silently while she continued to lead them. Funnily enough, Jake seemed oblivious to what had just happened as, ironically, she busied herself musing if the Royals would miss a few pieces of occuli or metal here and there... if she could find any that wasn’t bolted down.

It wasn't until much later did Umbra's grimace from the earlier exchange catch her attention. “You remember something bad?" asked the poor clueless Capilli. Knarl caught himself from snorting in amusement, while Umbra took another deep breath and desperately tried to calm herself.

“I remembered that I was escorting you two, a fact more than sufficient to make me sour. And if you are to be wise, you should shape up before meeting with the Queen.” Umbra spoke through her teeth and took a few brisk strides ahead of them. She distanced herself as to hint to them that she did not want this to take any longer than necessary. Jake huffed at her answer and hurried up to Glauce who had trailed behind from her mother, opting to walk with her two friends instead.

“So, what’s the deal then Glauce? I never asked since it never came up, but if Luna’s the Queen, and Umbra her daughter, why isn’t she the princess instead of you?”

“That is a good question,” Knarl chimed in as he too realized that they had never addressed it, “is there a reason for it?"

Glauce took a breath. “It’s hard to explain, but for some reason Luna skipped Mother when it came to who would eventually inherit the throne. Right now it seems like I and Lumia will be the potential candidates to become Queen once Luna steps down.” Her voice was hushed, as the topic would definitely rile up Umbra even more. “Luna won’t tell me or my Mother why she chose to do it this way. I’ll try to tell you more later.” Her hushed words were becoming more of a mumble. “If we keep talking about this or just talking in general who knows what Mother might do.”

_Probably blow a fuse in that bloated ego of hers,_ Jake thought harshly, but she wisely kept her words to herself. She nodded to the Princess to signal she understood, and the four of them finished their march to the throne room in silence. Umbra stopped short once again of a pair of doors that dwarfed the ones that had led inside originally. Silver-gilded on each door was the Lemurian Sigil. An image of a Manticore fighting what appeared to be a large Sea Serpent was also emblazoned across the doorway, hewn in such a fashion that if the doors were to open, the Serpent would have its head torn off. It was clear that the high framed doors were heavy, much more so than the golem-flanked ones they'd previously passed. What was strange to the two outsiders was that this time there were no guards of any sort at the doorway.

Knarl and Jake looked at each other, silently daring the other to ask the uffish woman just who they were waiting for. Their answer was given as Umbra only gave one sound knock against the emblem of the two beasts locked in combat. The echo of metal vibrated deep through the castle and Glauce felt her heart sink deep into the pit of her stomach.

There was a deep shrieking of metal and grinding of gears as the doors began to part seemingly by themselves. As they swung open the party became aware of the golems that silently toiled at the chains and pulleys that operated the door. A dull wail of metal before a thud and silence signalled that the doors had opened completely.

“You may come in,” Umbra barked, commanding as always, and walked in swiftly while they others stood slack jawed. Glauce usually met with the Queen outside of the throne room, so the sight that greeted them equally awed her.

The room was extravagant, yet not in the gaudy manner that the expansive Kingdoms on mainland Europe were so famous for. Instead of portraits depicting the enigmatic ruler there were instead statues lining the scarlet carpet, crafted in the likeness of the Four Explorers. The Lemurian Sigil again graced the walls in countless banners, and what appeared to be reliefs of the clash of the same two beasts gracing the throne room entrance also lined the walls. Absent were windows of any sort, the only light being that of wall mounted candelabras, these ones so intensely ornate and bright that they put the previous hallway ones to shame. The gentle flickering of candlelight was taken one step further as the entirety of the ceiling had been covered with a fine pyrite dust, making the roof appear as if it was the night sky with its cloak of many stars.

The throne was simple enough: hewn white marble, with an effigy of the Sigil imprinted right above the seated personhood of the Ruler of Lemuria. Greyed hair beneath a brilliant silver crown spilled over her feather-cuffed neck, and her black and silver robes were a stark contrast to the muted marble she sat attentively on. The woman's feet were adorned with tailored black leather slippers that exposed her heels and toes; she shifted them as she began to rise before her four guests. As she stood, a caplet that draped over her left shoulder fluttered freely, and it was immediately evident with how it moved and hung that the Queen had no limb beneath it.

The Ruler didn't utter a word as she walked towards them in a slow, almost feeble manner. Jake wondered if the poor soul was going to make to them before stumbling. For a dark moment Knarl felt like this was just some kind of ploy to make fun of him and Jake. Surely their great Queen wasn't this frail?

Instead the woman stopped short of the band of four and took a deep breath. She was eye to eye with Umbra and gave her a gentle smile. Raising her only hand the Queen spoke aloud with a voice that sounded so brittle that Jake's fear of her dropping dead at any moment only escalated.

“I see that Glauce has returned to us safely and I assume that the two with you are partially to thank. Isn’t that right, my Daughter?” Her watery blue eyes gleamed with the joy her body was seemingly too weary to express.

“Yes,” said Umbra; the tone of voice she used with the Queen was far different from the harsh one she spoke with only minutes ago. “I had decided to try searching in my own time since we hadn’t heard from Lumia in the field, and I found these two with her.” The others could sense that she wanted to tell Luna that they had the audacity to use Glauce as a mount, but something was stopping her.

“Grandmother,” Glauce spoke up, deciding to take a stand for her friends. “This is Knarl and Jake, a Lindworm and Capilli respectively. While I was out in the wilds they found me and protected me until I was able to come home.”

Knarl could tell that Jake wanted to intervene and speak for herself, but instead he watched his friend stew silently. Looking ahead he found himself accidentally locking eyes with the head Royal and averted his gaze immediately. Her response was a gentle laugh.

“I haven’t seen a Lindworm in the flesh in many a year! Forgive my casual behavior. When you’re my age you really don’t care about formalities, but as you can guess, I am Queen Luna, Ruler and Guardian of Lemuria.” Much to Umbra's shock, Luna bowed the best she could to the towering man. “I thank you on behalf of the Royal Family that you took it upon yourselves to help my grandchild.”

“Think nothing of it, we were just doing what was right. The Owls were relentless in her pursuit, but never stood a chance with the two of us there.” Knarl brushed off the praise; he could tell that the Queen was sincere but he felt extremely out of his element in such a decadent and stiffly formal place.

“Owls?” Luna straightened herself up and the frailness in her voice faded for a fleeting moment. Her eyes narrowed at her family and she glanced back at the others silently.

“Yeah, Owls, big and purple and wicked looking, the usual.” Jake shrugged, “Same as they are everywhere right?”

“Right.” The Queen looked as if she was in pain but made no motion to address it. “Forgive me, I guess I’m just overwhelmed with knowing Glauce is safe that I really can’t absorb any new information right now. I am sure that the two of you will be wanting to get back to the lives you lead. I will see to it that you may have room and board for tonight, then you may take your leave in the morning once you are fully rested.”

“They are to stay here in the castle?” the disgust in Umbra's voice couldn’t be masked even if she tried.

“They may have room and board for tonight,” Luna repeated in a slow manner and accented every word. Knarl wondered if it was a trick of the light but it even looked like the Queen was smiling. “I know that I murmur sometimes but I feel like my commands are quite loud enough, aren’t they?”

“Yes, yes they are Mother.” Umbra could feel the smirk of the annoying Capilli growing by every second. “If I may, I need to see if Lumia has sent another Scouting update prior to her return; I will ask to take my leave if you are to see to the needs of our guests.”

“You may go right ahead.” Luna gave no nod of acknowledgement. She seemed quite set on staying with the three while Umbra removed herself in a silent rage. The others watched without a word as the foul spirited woman left and her footsteps rang until they faded from earshot. Luna sighed and put her hand to her temple. “I must excuse my daughter, she’s extremely-“

“Rude?” Jake interjected having found the gumption to become her usual interrupting self once more now that Umbra had left. “I’m going to tell you right now Your Majesty, but as she escorted us here she was not only rude to us but to your Grandchild too.” She inhaled deeply with relief at finally being able to voice her opinion. Glauce on the other hand looked like she was about to die of fright with how direct her friend had been.

“That is one way to describe it,” Luna conceded, mulling over the select word she was going to use before exercising better judgment. “She’s been more standoffish with the recent events in Lemuria, and the fact that Glauce had gone missing only made things worse. I am sure that Umbra will level out now that she knows her daughter is safe. On that subject…” the Queen opened her arm and beckoned at the grey clad Princess. Glauce hesitated but realized Luna was only asking for an embrace. She quickly closed the distance between them and hugged the elder woman tightly, having to lean over as Luna had grown short in her age.

Jake and Knarl gave the two their space. The latter noticed there was a warmth between the two that was completely absent with Glauce and her Mother. He silently promised himself that he would never let that happen with his own child.

A moment later the two Royals parted and Glauce smiled for the first time since they arrived within the palace. She murmured a thank you to her grandmother and took her place next to the other two. It seemed like the Queen still wanted to talk to them about other matters.

“It is actually better that Umbra not be here for what I want to discuss. The fact that you were able to find and keep Glauce protected for this past week means that you are competent to protect whomever else you travel or stay with. I do find it odd that you two of such different Tribes are so close, but I shouldn’t judge.” Suddenly Luna coughed and cleared her throat in such a manner that the three of them all rushed to her side in alarm.

“Are you alright?” Knarl offered an arm for her to rest against as she overcame her fit. Luna gave another haggard cough and grumbled. She seemed more like she was frustrated rather than in pain.

“The usual,” the white haired Queen croaked out before finally regaining her voice. “You must excuse me, frog in the throat. It happens every now and then.”

“Grandmother, do you think it’s wise to keep talking and standing like this?” Glauce’s voice trembled seeing her be so feeble. “It’s not good for your heart.”

“Her heart? I don’t think it’s good for her anything.” Jake bit her lip realizing that if Luna collapsed she was going to fall right on her if Knarl faltered.

“I will do what I want," Luna declared. "I might have a few shortcomings but I promise that I’m not going to keel over just yet.” She found her footing and took a step away from Knarl.

_Want to make a bet on that?_ Jake thought to herself. The Queen regained her composure and rubbed a tear of pain away from her watered eyes.

“As I was saying prior though, I am surprised that I have finally been able to meet with a Lindworm after so long. I assume that you all migrated to Nereida Isle and made yourselves more or less your own patch of land outside Lemuria reign.”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that we have seceded from Lemuria... we only keep to ourselves.” Knarl responded in a polite manner; he knew how to play it cool, especially to counteract Jake's sharp and rather reckless tongue.

Luna made no reply at first. For a moment the others wondered if she had even forgotten about her line of questioning with the mountain of a man. It was only when she spoke up were all three of them taken by surprise.

“Do you know of the Three Relics?”

Knarl paused. He almost answered yes immediately as nearly everyone within Lemuria had heard about the legendary treasures known as the Three Relics, but he wondered why the Queen had chosen to stray into such an odd topic. He looked down at Jake who only gave a shrug in response that might as well have been her saying “answer her or we’re going to be here all day".

“Yes, they were artifacts of power that the original Four Explorers used to tame the wilds of Lemuria. They’re commonly referred to as the Sun, Moon, and Stars. There was also a fourth relic that has been lost to time which was a sword owned by Mathildis.” It was a common enough legend; Cynbel, Rambert, Erin, and Mathildis had used their brains and brawn cooperatively, and the result of their magical weapons and talismans was the power to change entire landscapes.

Luna nodded sagely. “During the time the swords whereabouts was known, it was common that the four artifacts together were called the Secret of Ages. Our ancestors had a knack for making everything extremely theatrical. I feel like I’ve at least toned down in my later years.” The monarch chuckled, though the others found themselves dubious of her claim, given the lavish tapestries and reliefs all around them. “But sadly like you said, the sword has gone missing before any of us were ever born, so now we are left with the Three Relics that are guarded by the Lemurian Royal Family.”

Jake scratched her nose absentmindedly, bored by the monologue. “This is all common knowledge, especially to someone who travels around Lemuria all the time. Why the lecture?”

“You will see in due time my rough and tumble Capilli friend. Now, Knarl, may I see your hands?” It was an odd request, but she had asked so clearly that Knarl couldn’t have misheard for anything else. Making sure his spear was slung comfortably on his shoulder Knarl proceeded to display his hands to the Royal, who frowned, studying them. “Hmm," she spoke, "I guess I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what Your Majesty?” Knarl found not only her question but also her plain reaction odd.

“It is nothing to concern yourself with as of right now. But there is one more thing that I must ask of you, Knarl Lindworm.” She snapped her fingers with such a loudness that it echoed throughout the room. The golems manning the doors behind them began to toil away at the gears and the heavy doors started to creak close and the sigils along the wall lit up with a silver light. “I am also grateful that I have Glauce to bear witness to this, as your friend will do for you as well Knarl.”

The three backed away as Luna raised her only arm up and from the sigils poured a brilliant light that concentrated in her hand. Candlelight flickered from the gusts of wind that were conjured up as Luna called upon the powers that surrounded her.

“Hey lady, mind explaining the light show?!” Jake yelped as the doors slammed closed. She looked over to where Glauce was and saw that the Princess had vacated to one of the walls; she didn’t seem afraid oddly enough. “Knarl!?” the Capilli shouted. Part of her wanted to conjure up a lightning spell against the Queen.

“I need to see something for myself, Travelling Capilli Jake. Do not be alarmed.” Luna’s frail voice ebbed away into a more stern and unwavering tone. Her posture seemed better as the silver light continued to pour into her outstretched palm. The brilliant aura began to shift and twist and formed into a long silver glaive with a black pole handle. Even with only having one arm she deftly swung it around in a fearsome whirl before thrusting it out on guard before her. Her body was grounded in a stance that could only mean she wanted to challenge Knarl to a duel. “I just need to see if your Lindworm friend is the Father of a Thief.”


	8. Lindworm and Manticore

“Excuse me?” Knarl reached back for his spear and took a step back as he didn’t wish to harm the Queen. “I heard you right the first few times but what is this about a thief?”

“As Queen of Lemuria, I have been blessed with seeing the future.” The Queen took a cautious step away from Knarl to show that she was waiting for him to make a move. “Being the ruler of Lemuria comes with many benefits after all, and given that you have done me a great favor of saving my Granddaughter I shall tell you what I haven’t told Lumia nor Umbra.

“I had a vision a week prior that our Three Relics are in danger. They will be stolen by a Moon Dragon, an Outsider across the Cynbel Sea, and a Thief who’s Father is a Lindworm.” She held her stance, letting the grimness of her words set in. “If you can best me in combat, then I will know that I will need more guidance and power in keeping Lemuria safe. Know that I am not engaging you to kill you, only to test you.”

Knarl wondered how this could possibly be the same woman who had nearly coughed her insides out moments before. Something about the magic within the palace made Luna more powerful and resilient than she was before, that much was certain. He wondered how to approach the situation, as up until this point he had never sparred with another humanoid.

The way how Luna carried herself tipped him off that not only had she done her share of fighting, but even with her lack of a left arm she still seemed capable in battle - the heaviness of the glaive didn’t seem to put any strain on her lone arm at all.

Seeing that she was serious Knarl reached for his spear and brandished it the same way he would when readying himself to lunge at an attacker back home. He felt like his posture was clumsy compared to Luna’s nearly statuesque one, but he stood his ground all the same.

“Alright, I see you’re serious about this, I will accept your challenge Queen Luna!” He tightened his hold on his spear and used his weight and size to lunge at his opponent in effort to knock the glaive out of her hand.

Luna responded by backing away and bringing her own weapon up to rend Knarl’s spear in half. There was a clank and the Royal stumbled in surprise as what she thought would be a decisive strike only landed her in position where Knarl could fling her glaive away.

He pushed with all his might against the blade and there was a twang of metal as Luna’s weapon was flung spinning into the air. He leapt in to bar her escape, wanting to pin her on the spot, but he too was surprised as the Queen called upon the silver aura that had conjured her glaive. Instead of creating another weapon, a pair of jet-black wings manifested behind her and she gave a gale of a wing beat in Knarls direction.

The Lindworm stumbled from the blast of wind. Luna took the chance to reclaim her glaive while Knarl struggled with his footing. Seeing that the woman had regained her own ground, albeit shakily, Knarl cursed to himself. It should have dawned on him earlier that someone like her would rely not only on her physical prowess, but also her magic.

With a huff she willed her wings away and it was evident that Luna had control over more than just being able to rejuvenate her tired body. She was vastly more nimble than the haggard elder in Umbra’s presence. Seeing how drained she was after such an action however, it was clear to Knarl that her age still a factor weighing down on her strength.

“I must say, I didn’t expect the Queen of Lemuria to readily shape-shift in combat.” It wasn’t so much a taunt as it was a compliment to see if she would divulge information about what tricks she had while they fought. 

Luna smirked but made no motion to lower her weapon. “When you’re as old as I am you learn more than your fair share of tricks. You’re not old as I am but you’re no greenhorn when it comes to waving around that spear or your manners. If only I could say the same for your shorter friend.” There was a cackle and the Queen’s smiled widened. Glauce found herself smirking and caught it before Jake snapped to attention.

“Hey, I know you said this was going to be a one-on-one spar, but if you’re going to bring me into it I’ll gladly show you a lightning bolt or two!” The Capilli puffed her cheeks out and reached for one of her occuli as she was more than ready to tumble with the smallest of excuses.

“We don’t need that Jake, I’ve got this under control.” Knarl talked her down without sparing her a glance, since he garnered Luna would readily seize the opportunity to strike again.

Indeed, Luna made the first move after they had backed away from each other. The silvery light that had conjured her glaive now glowed around her as she charged forward, and aiming at Knarl’s ribs, brought the pole of her weapon around in a heavy swing. The Lindworm managed to parry the blow but found himself taking a few more steps back to recover from the blow. If this kept up he would soon be pinned against one of the castle walls. He didn’t want to fight fire with fire, feeling that he was above having to resort to his more supernatural powers. His conviction was pressured as the Queen leapt into the air with her constantly phasing wings and tried to lance him from above.

There was a thud of something heavy hitting metal. Luna was flung back as an ivory tentacle struck her side, knocked out of her dive. Knarl grunted, having partially shifted his left arm into his more monstrous forme; a long white appendage slinked around agitatedly as he kept his eyes on his opponent. Only when she landed and had caught her breath did he allow his arm to reform back to the weather-beaten humanoid one. He shook his arm out a little to readjust, holding his spear out once again to show he still had fight left in him.

“Impressive. How did you learn to do that on the fly?” Luna took a deep breath as the blow had knocked the air out of her.

“I do more than just fish back at home.” Knarl decided enough was enough and he took the fight to the Queen. Closing the distance he brought his spear down with both arms. He moved at just the right angle so that when Luna countered, her glaive grazed the head of the spear and Knarl stopped short of the blade piercing her throat. The tip of the spear was lost within the gently swaying feathers of her neck ruffle as the only noise between them was steady breathing.

“Very well. I concede, Knarl of Nereida Isle.” Luna’s voice faltered as she withdrew from Knarl’s spear point. The man too slowly backed away and sheathed his trusted weapon. He felt that the Queen would at least be chivalrous enough to not feint a defeat. Indeed, Luna appeared to be a woman of her word; she leaned on her glaive and motioned for Glauce to stand at her side.

“Are you alright Grandmother? It looked like that last strike really hit hard.” The princess was meek as ever as she noticed the elder grimacing.

“I’ve had much worse dear. A sound dueling strike to my shoulder is nothing compared to having your whole arm lopped off now, isn’t it?” Seeing Glauce suddenly recoiling and about to quail with fear at her words, the Queen’s demeanor shifted to a quiet and comforting one. “Now now, it’s fine. I just wanted to know if he was strong enough.”

“Strong enough for what?” Knarl folded his arms and tried not to let his frustration show blatantly. “You first tell me that I am the Father of a Thief, and then go about sparring my strength against yours. While I am more than happy to offer my services, I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark like this. Why spar against me instead of this imaginary child thief who will supposedly steal one of Lemuria’s three relics?”

“Because if I can’t best you in combat how may I even hope to defeat your child should that day come?” There was agitation in her frail voice but Luna didn’t scowl. “I am not going to do anything as barbaric as steal your child away or banish them once they are born. No, acts like that only spark resentment and hatred. I wanted to fight against you to know what I might be up against. This fight was just between our human forms anyway. I’m certain that you could readily smite me if you had access to your true form and if we were fighting to the death.”

Knarl fell silent. He wasn’t sure what kind of alternate form Luna really had since he had only seen parts of it in their fight. But he knew that she was right about him being strong enough to overpower her. He could probably defeat Jake in a duel even though the latter had her lightning magic; there was only so much you could do against the tough hide of the watery dragon.

“I may be weak now given my age, but Lemuria’s Relics are still under my control and they give me the power needed to protect this kingdom. I shudder to think what might happen if someone else besides those I trusted gained control of them, but then again… blind faith sometimes is just as bad.” Luna grimaced and scrunched her armless shoulder up.

“Grandmother, what did you mean by that last part?” Glauce wondered just how much pain the Queen was masking from them.

“It’s nothing... just old resentment, Glauce. But you, Knarl, you have shown me that there are plenty of citizens in Lemuria who are strong as us Royals.” The Queen recovered a fragment of her strength, settling into better posture as she addressed the trio. “We need to acknowledge that if this kingdom is to survive, Lumia will probably want to meet with you too once she returns from her scouting.”

“I need remind you that I can’t stay that long here in the Palace, much less Central City. I have a family to get back to.” Knarl lowered his shoulders but still kept his arms crossed. “I apologize for being blunt, but I think we’ve spent enough time here talking already.”

“Yes, things have dragged on for some time haven’t they? I’m happy that Umbra decided not to change her mind, or else she might’ve ended up stumbling upon us mid-match. That girl doesn’t think I’m fit to be doing anything anymore.” The Queen dispelled her weapon from existence and the silver lights faded from the walls. Taking cue from the magic dissipating from the room, the Golems went about reopening the door for Knarl and Jake. “I’m sure that Umbra didn’t escort you down the scenic route. I will show you to your room for the night and provide whatever food you need. Come now.”

Jake went a little slack jawed. Part of her still wished to inquire about whatever reward they would get for bringing Glauce back. She was given no such opportunity as Luna walked briskly by with the Princess at her side. She suppressed a huff and followed them as fast as her strides could take her, soon catching up to Knarl who had followed the Royals with only a nod of acknowledgement.

There was an awkward silence as they made their way through the castle again. Knarl wondered if his eyes had adjusted well enough to the gloom as he could make out everything in the tapestries as they passed them again. Much like before, some images were that of the Sigil, while others had the emblem from the throne room door that depicted the Manticore locked in battle with the Serpent. There were more images discernable in the dark now; the Manticore seemed prevalent in many of them, as was a girl dressed in grey that Knarl assumed could only represent Glauce.

The more he observed the illustrations as they kept walking the more Knarl realized that Umbra was absent from many of the images, as was Lumia. He could only assume that whatever images the tapestries showed were part of some narrative he didn’t know. Going down another hall he figured he was right, as there were now images of Umbra and Lumia in tandem on the walls. It only made sense, as they were the sole representatives of the Explorers Cynbel and Erin; Glauce was too young to be placed on the same mantle as Lumia. In his distracted musings the Lindworm didn’t realize that Luna had called out to signal that they had reached where they’d be staying for the night.

“I’m not sure how you get on back in Nereida Isle, but I hope that this will be to your liking on such short notice.” Luna bowed her head slightly to the two of them. “I mentioned earlier about food, please tell me what you prefer to eat as well, I will have it brought up to you prior to the sun setting.”

Hearing the mention of food after such a long day of traveling and the surprise battle earlier, Knarl felt a pang of hunger gnaw around inside him. Jake went starry eyed at the idea of having anything. Knarl’s answer however made her jaw drop once again.

“River fish, local fruit, and fresh water please, eating heavy after all this journeying will probably upset my innards.” While Nereida Isle cuisine certainly wasn’t bland, he had a feeling it wasn’t as rich as what the Royals ate.

“A Lindworm with a delicate stomach, well that’s something I’ve never come across in my long life.” Luna found the image funny but knew that dwelling on it would be in poor taste. “I’ll send word down as soon as I know what your shorter friend wants. Judging by how she’s become truly silent I think she’s putting together quite a long list.”

“What? No, no I’m just deciding!” Jake realised she had been making a stupefied face for the past minute and rubbed her cheek. “You know now that I think about it, I’ll just have what he’s having.”

Knarl wondered if he had heard her right but didn’t object. Luna made a mental note and snapped her fingers with a crack that echoed throughout the halls. A servant was at her side in seconds. The Queen relayed what the two friends had told her and dismissed them casually.

“Well I guess that’s that for now. You’re free to walk around the castle and the gardens outside, but any door that’s shut I take you know that you shouldn’t stick your nose into.” Luna grimaced and flexed her hand. “I will need to go back and meditate on things for now. Umbra and Lumia will want to speak with me once Lumia is done being grilled by Umbra for every little detail of her recent exploration. Glauce, you may spend the night how you wish as well. I’m sure your friends will appreciate it.”

“Ah? But Grandmother, are you positive you’re alright with that?” The girl looked even paler than before; to Knarl, she had practically become a shrinking violet. “I haven’t seen you in nearly a week.”

“You have spent your entire life with me Glauce, I think I can tolerate another night especially if you’re going to be with your two friends. On that subject, is there anything you would like? I can fetch it for you myself.

“Oh, I’ll have...” There was a pause as she wondered if she should just make it simple and order the same request as what Jake and Knarl did. Thinking about all the food she had missed while away on Nereida Isle made her mouth water. “A salad with all the greens from the garden and olives with the one dressing they make from the flower seeds too.” Her mind wandered back to the Honey Seeds that Jake had used in her cure-all, and how distinct their flavour was.

“Just that? Well, I’ll have it so that this will be the best anti-climatic meal you’ve ever had then. Now, I will take my leave. May the afternoon be good to you three.” Luna took a deep breath and made a roundabout. Walking briskly away she knew she would have to speak with Lumia and Umbra as soon as she put in the princess’ request. Luna already knew about the Moon Dragon massacre due to Messenger Pigeon, and she had given the okay for Lumia to return from patrolling, much to Umbra’s disapproval.

Knowing she was out of earshot the Queen exhaled and felt a deep weight root itself in her heart. Secrets that were no stranger to someone of her status were deeply clenching at her consciousness. Soon Lumia would return and she would have to feign ignorance at her report regarding the trip to the Plains of Rambert and Cliffs of Erin.

One gift that she had been given by the Three Relics was the power of clairvoyance. This had allowed her to safeguard Lemuria through years of peace with her ability to foresee and avoid any threats to the order of the realm. Lately, however, something had begun to encroach on her power and render it fallible. More than once now had her foresight, once perfect, been proven to be wrong. 

The Moon Dragon incident was one such example.

Luna knew what had caused the Moon Dragons to be wiped out like they had been nothing but a dream. She was not surprised when Lumia reported there was one lone survivor.

In a way, it had been the Queen’s fault.

She looked down at the sash that covered where her left arm should have been. The brilliant design of the Sun Relic glimmered in a way that seemed to mock her. The Sun was always something that the citizens of Lemuria and the whole world looked on as something warm and kind: a noble symbol that represented the good in people’s hearts and the justice that they as a species strived for.

But The Explorer Cynbel, from what Luna knew, was exactly the opposite of what the Sun was. He was the most calculating of the Explorers, and due to his more tactical and “sensible” approach to things he was also the most callous. He had passed away eons before Luna was born, but the tomes that she had found within the Royal Library had given her enough information to shine truth on her ancestor. While the other three seemed to want to make peace with Lemuria’s other inhabitants who had dwelled there long before the Four Explorers arrived, Cynbel only saw a place to conquer. Even Erin, the one Explorer known for her exploits in combat and ironically named the Conqueror, knew when peace was an option. It seemed that well before any falling out, the legendary team had already started to unravel at the seams due to how Cynbel viewed everything.

Like a fool, the Queen panicked when she received the vision of the Three Relics eventually being stolen. One of the thieves predicted had been a Moon Dragon. Such artifacts in the wrong hands would spell the end for Lemuria. She prayed to the Four Explorers for guidance as the Dragons of Lemuria were the most powerful beings in the Kingdom, and an entire clan could readily strike her down in seconds. She pleaded for help that there would be a way to stop the potential thief from ever rising up and snatching the relic.

Luna didn’t like relying on Gods. She was not faithless by any means but in her long life she learned that blind faith did as much harm as no guidance at all. She had learned that the hard way many years ago and as she reminisced the muscle around where her left arm socket was ached.

She felt like she hadn’t learned at all. Praying to the Three Relics had summoned a monumental windstorm where the Moon Dragons roosted. While they were agile the Dragons were susceptible to physical strikes against their leathery unscaled bodies. The microbursts of wind crushed them as if they were paper dolls. Upon realising that the freak storm lasting only seconds had eradicated the proud race from the planet, Luna mourned in solitude over her foolish mistake. The news that Lumia had found one lone survivor made her realize the cruelness of the Three Relics’ answer to her request: there was now only one Moon Dragon for her to keep watch over.

If a wish like that was granted for someone who was trying to do good, Luna shuddered to think what could possibly happen if the Relics were used for evil. No one could ever know the truth about the massacre though; that would be something she would keep with her until her final days.

The Queen was holding onto more and more secrets than she ever thought she would have to keep, and not only were there secrets but suspicions too. She wondered despite her upbringing just why Umbra had turned out the way she did. Luna did not play favorites as she had to raise Lumia by herself alongside her own child, and treated them with both love and patience. Why Umbra seemed so jaded was a mystery to her.

Then there was Glauce.

Glauce would need to learn the truth about the mainland one day.


	9. Garden Talk

Luna brushed away the thoughts that had crept into her tired mind. Right now she would focus on adding Glauce’s request to the kitchen staff, before once again leaving herself alone to her thoughts in the Throne Room. Her visit to the kitchen was extremely uneventful until she mentioned Glauce’s name; while the staff were surprised to see her so soon after her earlier call for the pair of orders, the news that the Princess had returned had not reached the galley yet. There was excited chatter amongst kitchen staff before they finally settled down to resume their tasks, while Luna watched patiently. Seeing the mirth within the room was a welcome break from the heavy responsibly she had been thinking about minutes ago.

Amongst the chatter, there was a small query spoken with such a hushed voice, Luna had to pause to make sure she hadn’t imagined it.

“Is everything alright your Majesty?” The speaker in particular was an older Aerostrati, a veteran in the Kitchen. He stopped filleting the fish he had been tasked with preparing and walked to her side. His garbs were black and silver and mirrored the rest of the castle staff, with the exception of a pair of red dragonfly wings he had sewn to the right of his shirt collar. His oak brown hair was combed back neatly and his brilliant blue eyes gleamed with such a sharpness of observation; seeing his concern reflected in them, Luna found herself unsurprised.

“Yes Franklin, you don’t need to worry about me after all. I might have forgotten the whole order but I’m not slipping.”

The elder staff member appeared pacified, but it was a front. Even though they were quiet, the staff were not in the dark as much of the Royals assumed. Rumors spread like a blot of ink on parchment; the little melee that the Queen had with a Lindworm would soon be the palace gossip little more than a week.

“That’s good to know. Lemuria can depend on you to keep it safe for everyone.” He made a half turn back to his station, before adding, “You, and Lumia.”

Luna couldn’t help but find it odd that he would make such a comment. “Umbra is also part of the ensemble, and my family. You best remember that Franklin.” 

“We all do Your Majesty.” His voice had no hint of sarcasm, but there was no hiding his quiet resentment, reflecting many of the people, over how brooding and closed off Umbra had become. “But going back to Lumia - has she returned yet from the Cliffs of Rambert?”

“She and her scouts should be here soon enough. Umbra greeted two earlier guests and my Granddaughter earlier. I think that I’ll go and welcome Lumia and… relieve Umbra of doing another greeting.” The Queen found a smile had formed while she was speaking. Well, even though she was her daughter, perhaps Luna was not completely ignorant of how crabby the raven haired Royal could.

“I think that’s in good order,” he sat back down and took up on his utensils again. He stopped short of making the first cut and noticed that Luna was still in the room. He wondered if the other staff were so busy they didn’t notice. Seeing her hover like this was disconcerting.

“Luna?”

Despite the Aerostati’s casual address, the Queen was hardly offended as she snapped back to attention. She adjusted her capelet, saying nothing more as she left. The Aerostrati continued his work as if nothing had happened; it was not his place to question how things were done with the Royals. He felt that every day he worked was more time spent bettering the Kingdom, and the pay was decent enough given how many servants were treated on the mainland, from the stories of Pilgrims.

For only a split second, he wondered if someday that would be taken away from him and his family. There were whispers everywhere nowadays: the Sun Palace being closed, Luna obviously being more distant to the staff, and now there was even talk of a mist that had engulfed the Flooded Plains near where the Sun Palace was. While there were no talks of monsters encroaching on towns or villages, he only felt like sooner or later there would be similarly dire news that would herald loud and clear the dawn of some sort of great predicament in Lemuria.

There was one rumor he wished was not true that would hopefully soon be proven false by the Queen, the one of the Moon Dragons. While Lumia’s team supposedly said their main communication was between the messenger pigeons relayed to the Palace of the Explorers, many Travellers and Kategida had used their own birds to message their loved ones about their status and horrible discovery. One of the Traveller Scouts had family working in the castle as a cleaner and the message spoke of the Cliffs of Rambert being outright destroyed by some unknown magic. There was only a single Moon Dragon found amongst the wreckage. 

No one brought it up to the Queen or her Daughter though as things were already stressful with the Princess missing. Glauce returning was a most welcome piece of news for everybody. A shining glint of good in an uncertain world! Mm, almost sounded like a story he ought to start writing

Franklin gave an inward chuckle as he returned to filleting the fish for dinner.

 

\---------------------------

 

“Well, your Grandmother knows how to wield a weapon, I’ll give her that.” It dawned on Knarl how his human body had been pushed during the fight with the Queen. “Dealing with single person combat is something I haven’t done in ages.”

“Well when your only sparring partner uses magic and other projectiles I hardly say that’s fair practice for someone running around with a polearm,” Jake chided as she put her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t afraid for you back there but that quick change to your real form really did surprise me.”

“Not afraid for me?” Knarl chuckled and ruffled the mess of brown hair the Capilli had. There was a guttural sound of annoyance in response, but Jake eventually cracked a smile after her friend was done messing with her. “You’re always saying things like that, but I appreciate the support.”

“But, are you sure that you’re both alright with this though?” Glauce interjected and hunched her shoulders up. “Staying the night. Tethys is waiting for you to return after all.”

“She knows that I’ll be gone for the night, as much as returning right now would be preferred I think I’ll end up exhausted myself and just fall asleep on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Especially after that little fight with Luna.” Knarl tried to ease Glauce’s concerns but he could see she still seemed worried.

“I know!” cried Jake,I “I’ll just take Glauce out for a walk while you can rest up, that way in the morning we can leave at the crack of dawn and be back to the Island in no time.” She sprang up right away and began to usher the Princess out of the room. Knarl noticed however that she seemed pushier than usual.

The princess stammered in protest. “Jake, I-“

“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. Won’t you big guy?” There wasn’t even a wink from the Capilli as she looked up to him for reassurance. “Just rest your bones and we’ll be back soon enough.”

Knarl caught wind of Jake’s intentions loosely. If he knew his friend, he had a feeling that her little “excursion” with Glauce would be a convenient way of allowing Jake to pose some unresolved questions to the girl. He feigned a yawn and stretched. “Yes, I’ll be here. Take your time out there exploring, I’m sure there’s plenty Glauce can show you here after all.” He wished he could easily tell his friend to go easy on the princess; sometimes when Jake got on a roll she was hard to stop. 

In any case it looked like Jake got her wish granted as Glauce gave in and nodded sheepishly. “Alright,” said the girl, directing her attention to the shorter woman as Knarl retreated to the sleeping quarters, “where would you like to see first then?”

“First thing’s first, let’s get out of here. These gloomy hallways are so oppressive, I’m beginning to wonder if the Sun really exists anymore.” The over-the-top manner with how Jake was acting began to even tip off Glauce that something was off, though she wasn’t completely sure about what exactly. “There’s the gardens like Luna said right? Let’s go there first, Glauce.”

“Sure, it’s just down the hallway and out a set of doors to the back of the castle. We landed in the middle atrium but there’s plenty more than just the greenery there.”

“I would assume so since this is the main Palace of Lemuria.” Jake replied as the two of them made their way down the dark halls. “The Sun Palace and Moon Temple aren’t exactly great for it - you really can’t grow conventional gardens at the bottom of the ocean or atop cliffs higher than most mountains. I mean... I guess you could have coral gardens underwater but that wouldn’t really be the same now would it?”

There was no reply from the Princess as she opened the door to the garden, which was unguarded by castle staff. The hinges gave a loud creak as they opened and the two friends were met with the golden Lemurian sunset. Jake shielded her eyes and her angler bauble dimmed in the lazy orange light. Glauce pushed the door open in its entirety and allowed Jake to walk past her before shutting it behind her.

Trees and shrubs lined the walkways that were filled with smooth river stones. The green and colors of the garden were almost as lustrous as the foliage in Mathildis Forest. Given that it was nearing the end of the Spring season many of the flowers had already bloomed and were in the process of either wilting or beginning to bear fruit. The greenery had speckles of red and orange mottled throughout and in the sunset’s light the entire place had a feeling of warmth quite absent from the palace hallways.

The outside air too was a stark contrast to the interior of the castle. Taking a deep breath Jake felt revitalized and found resolve her plan, now that she and Glauce were alone without the other Royals’ company. Knarl would be better off resting; she suspected it would a rather draining task after all.

“Glauce, how often did you visit this garden?” Jake found herself drawn to a mentha plant that from its appearance looked like it had been cultivated to be a display herb. The Capilli’s angler light brightened for a moment, as she could smell the minty fragrance just by standing next to it on the garden path. Instinctively she reached out to grab a leaf but caught herself; pausing before withdrawing her hand. Instead she looked over her shoulder to where Glauce was standing.

“I’m here nearly every day. I can come out and tend to the plants around the castle without having to excuse myself down to Central City.” The Princess folded her hands together but Jake noticed how she seemed to fidget.

“You sure like feeling safe and in your comfort zones, don’t you?” Jake looked back to the plant. Her voice became noticeably stern as she refrained from looking back at the younger woman. “To the point where it can inconvenience others.”

“Jake?” Glauce felt her heart sinking into the pit of her stomach as her fears that her friend would confront her over the weeks events surfaced. “What do you mean Jake?”

“Are you so afraid that you even can’t travel on your own?” Jake clenched her fists and took a sharp breath. “I know that Lemuria and the rest of the world can be frightening, but you are more than capable of defending yourself from anything this place can throw at you. You can transform into a dragon! You have the blood of the Explorers flowing through you! Knarl, I’m sure, is quite anxious right now leaving his wife and child back in Nereida-“

“But that Island is-“

“Safe? Yes I know it’s safe, but you know when you’re part of a family that’s been sticking together for a long time... you know how hard it must be for someone to be apart from them?” Jake grit her teeth and finally looked back at the shrinking violet of a girl. “Do you Glauce? Knarl is my best friend and I know that we touched on this in Mathildis Forest, but I still have some beef with how this was handled. Just, why couldn’t you just fly home by yourself?”

Glauce was silent for what felt like the longest of minutes. She once again grabbed at her left elbow and grimaced. Jake remembered that gesture from earlier.

“I don’t like being alone Jake.”

“No one does.”

“I mean. I really don’t like being alone.”

“I heard you the first time.”

“What about you then? Always in the forests or cliffs by yourself when Knarl stays back home?” Glauce’s voice rose as frustration took hold. “Don’t you feel scared? Don’t you feel overwhelmed?”

“Nope, not at all, I know that despite how short I am I can fend for myself. I don’t need Knarl or anyone else to hold my hand.” Jake took a deep breath in attempt to calm herself. “So then what’s your story, huh? Why are you so scared that you can’t bear to be alone in any manner? Glauce, for crying out loud, you have to be alone sometimes when you sleep or when you come out here to the garden!”

“That’s, that’s completely different.” She averted her eyes even though Jake still wouldn’t face her completely. “I know that there are staff here, Mother and Grandmother are nearby. If one has to leave one is always here in the castle, and then there’s also Lumia if they must excuse themselves to oversee things in Lemuria.”

“Then what’s the deal then Glauce, you need to, ugh.” Jake shook her head and finally peeked at the Princess from the corner of her eye. “Look, I just want an answer, it’s not good for you to be this dependent on people. One day it’s really going to get you in hot water.”

“Mother said that too…” Glauce looked past Jake and to one of the trees in the center of the garden absentmindedly. “That’s why I was out there on the shore of the Flood Plains by myself. She told me to go and face my fears and get over having to be alone. Look what happened.” The Princess muttered her last words.

“Well, you met Knarl and me, so it wasn’t a complete loss.” Jake shrugged. She wondered just how much Glauce had relied on Luna and Umbra babying her. But then again, when she had been living on Nereida Isle, Glauce had always hurried after her or Knarl whenever they went to work in the woods or fish on the beach. Looking back on it, Jake really hadn’t thought anything of it and just figured that Glauce was still antsy over being away from her family. The fact she had to be escorted back just sat wrong with the Capilli. “Glauce, can you at least tell me why you’re so afraid of it?” She made no mention yet of the girl’s nervous tic that she notice.

“It’s just a memory that haunts me Jake.” Glauce’s voice became so frail, Jake wondered if she had imagined it. “An old, wisp of a memory that’s become foggy over time but is still as terrifying as ever.”

A heavy silence fell amongst the two. Jake turned to face the young girl, and when she broke the pause her voice was much softer than her harsh tones seconds ago.

“Does your family know?”

“They both do. Luna was there. I remember that vividly.” Again she grabbed at her elbow.

“And why is that?” Something told Jake that she would be much more careful with her tone of voice from now on.

Glauce looked conflicted; whatever the memory was it was evident that it caused her great discomfort to dwell on. The girl pressed her lips together and furrowed her brows. Jake watched, silent, letting Glauce decide whether or not she wanted to open up. Jake knew that given her reactions, the Princess had to have some real reason for her fear and wasn’t just being spoiled in wanting an escort. In the silence hanging over them, Capilli now wondered if she could have approached this less combatively; then again, being upfront and direct was both her greatest strength and greatest shortcoming.

“Jake?”

“I’m listening Glauce. You can tell me or not. I... I’m sorry for being so crass in wanting to know.” Jake folded her hands and felt her guilt gnaw at her tenaciously.

It felt like ages as the Capilli waited for an answer from the Royal. Glauce took a deep breath walked past the shorter woman. The Princess looked up towards one of the more prominent trees in the garden, her mind distant.

“When I was still little something bad happened,” she opened simply. “I don’t know if it was in Lemuria or wherever it could have been but... I nearly died when we ventured from the Palace one day.”

“Luna was the one to save you wasn’t she?” Jake made sure to pose her questions with care, given just how sensitive the subject was with the girl. It had to be Luna. She had a hard time believing Umbra would ever do something so selfless, so it was safe to assume the current Queen had.

“Yes, Mother was caught up in something else when we were attacked. Luna told me that it was the spawn of the monster we came across by accident. Do you recall the illustrations of the Manticore fighting the Sea Serpent in the halls and in the throne room?”

“The thing that was black as night and had needles for teeth? Not something you’d easily forget.”

“I never will forget them.” Glauce continued to idly stare up at the tree. “I had ventured off away from my family. I was so young I must have been distracted by a bird or butterfly and found myself deeper in the mainland woods than I ought to have been.” The princess tilted her head back as she reminisced. “The entire forest went black as night. I couldn’t do anything but cry out for help. I think that’s what got the monsters attention… It was on top of me in moments. I heard Grandmother call for me to get away from it as it lunged down on me.”

She stopped her story abruptly and the Princess once more clutched at her arm impulsively. Jake suddenly thought of Luna, the Queen’s own arm cleanly missing at the shoulder. That had to be it then...

“You don’t need to tell me any more Glauce,” Jake assured the girl. The grey haired girl was shivering as she nodded and continued all the same.

“Thankfully I know that even with her wound Luna vanquished the monster but it was still traumatic for me then, as only a child. I just grew up paranoid that if I left their vicinity that something like that creature would come and drag me away. It’s never left me. Even in my dreams I can still see that horrible maw and it’s glowing white eyes.”

The Capilli’s mind worked in silence from what she was just told. Jake had traveled everywhere in Lemuria and even ventured to the mainland coasts, but the description of the monster Glauce gave and the illustrations in the Palace were of a serpent she had never seen with her own eyes. Quite frankly she wanted to keep it that way. Its dark-as-night body seemed to drain the very colors from the fabric; the tapestries and metal reliefs only murkily depicted its horrific appearance. She felt herself wanting to ensure that the monster was the only one of its kind. If Luna had indeed killed the thing that petrified the poor girl, then maybe Glauce was safe. But if Luna and Umbra told the girl countless times again after the incident about being alone was perfectly safe and the princess was still so scared over the incident that the Serpent was indeed something truly to be feared. Perhaps there were more of its kind in the farther corners of Earth. Maybe once she and Knarl were done with their business here, Jake would set about journeying to the Mainland once again.

Now that she really thought about it, there had been only one time such a horrible creature had ever been mentioned in Lemurian lore. During an excursion to the Mainland European Continent they had felled a monster that had become insanely powerful from feeding on the faith of desperate humans who wished for protection from the elements. The monster slowly sapped away the aura of humans that worshipped it and in turn became a rogue beast that was a threat to everyone, even those not in the immediate area. It was surely the same creature that had attacked Glauce and maimed Luna.

“Have you told anyone else outside of the Royals about this? I mean, what happened with you.”

“Everyone in Lemuria knows the tale of how Queen Luna struck down the dreaded serpent Crom Cruach when she went to the mainland. But only she, Mother, and Lumia know about… my problem.” Glauce took a deep breath and turned in place to look back at Jake; her eyes were misty and it was evident she was holding back tears. “I blame myself for how Grandmother is now and how I feel like a burden to them all. If I was braver like you said I wouldn’t have everyone worrying or getting angry with me.”

Jakes guilt over the confrontation started to crawl back upon hearing the Princess’s words. She tried to put on a reassuring smile for the distraught girl.

“You’ve explained a lot though, you’ve taken me out of the dark over things.” She took a few steps over to Glauce. “You won’t need to explain yourself again to Knarl.”

“Will you tell him about this?” Glauce furrowed her eyebrows.

“No, he’s just that kind of guy who just wants to help everyone. Thing is, you can’t really help others unless they take a step to help themselves first. It’s one thing to help a girl being chased by owls; it’s another to help that girl fight the monsters in her mind.” The Capilli put her hands together. “But Glauce, please realize that you’re more than capable of getting over this ghost you’ve made for yourself. I believe in you. I’m sure that your family and the others here too think the same thing.”

The Princess gave no reply as she let Jake’s words resonate with her. The sun had finally sunk behind the pointed mountains to the north and twilight had begun to dance across the kingdom.

“I really don’t understand you sometimes Jake.”

“Not many people do. I think the only person who does is Knarl really.” There was a small chuckle from the Capilli as she took a step closer to the taller girl. “But hey, if anything came from this conversation, I just hope you can find a way to be on your own one day. After all, someday this Kingdom is going to be yours isn’t it?”

“I try not to think of that, but you’re right. It’s just hard.”

“If everything were easy then there’d be no uh, you know that rush of emotion you get when something goes right? Yeah, that’s the feeling I’m talking about. It’s that feeling of accomplishment which when you get it makes you feel like you can do anything.” Jake paused, “Wow um, that kind of just came tumbling out all over the place didn’t it?”

“Yes, but you made a good point.” Glauce knelt down and to the Capilli’s astonishment, wrapped her arms around in a firm hug. “You know, I think you’re my first real friend I’ve had Jake.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose in such surprise they got lost in her messy bangs. She brought her arms up to return the hug and gave a single soft “mm” in response. The shorter woman was silent and waited for Glauce to bow out of the hug first, but it seemed she was intent on keeping it for a good while.

“I’m sure you’ll make plenty more friends in the future,” Jake murmured. “I promise that I’ll take time out of my life to come and visit you. Luna doesn’t seem to have a stick up her rear when it comes to rules.”

“Luna likes the both of you, I can tell. I think she was happy to see someone outside of the castle staff too. It’s been rather lonely.” Glauce shut her eyes and rested her chin on Jake’s head, the latter realizing just how much taller the other woman was despite her lithe figure.

There was a strange silence between them as they stayed close together. Jake felt her mind wandering even more as they stood within the garden. Just how long had Glauce let this fear gnaw at her that stifled her? The princess at least had to be two decades old; to let something keep her under such a horrific grip for so long made the Capilli mad.

“Glauce?”

“Yes?” asked the girl, surprised by the sudden interjection.

“Well, I’m just wondering-“

Before Jake could finish her question, the sound of something chirping across the garden way made them snap to attention. Whatever it was, it was definitely not some common sparrow or pigeon. Another round of chirps sounded out again and the two were jostled even more. Jake withdrew from the princess and patted down her jacket, a deep red blush making its home on her cheeks. She couldn’t deny how welcome the interruption felt from the awkwardness she had found herself in.

“What was that?” Glauce wondered aloud. 

Jake walked ahead to see just what was going on within the garden. Seeing a nearby patch of greens rustling as if a large-ish animal was prowling through it hidden, Jake put a hand up, signaling at Glauce to stay put where she was. The older woman was practically level-height to the plants that were shifting about, which made her somewhat wary over what was that was stalking towards them, out of sight.

With a burst of leafs and flower petals a dark shape peeked out from the extravagant flowerbed and another chirp was heard. The Moon Dragon that up until this time been with Lumia had somehow found her way into the enclosed garden.

“Well! This is a surprise.” Jake nonchalantly reached out and rubbed the snout of the pup, who scrunched her nose up and snorted in response. She stared back at Glauce incredulously. “You have Moon Dragons living in your gardens?”

“No, we don’t.” Glauce inched forward as she watched the dragon rest on her long and lengthy arms and eyed the two of them warily. “The only creatures we get are the nesting birds and other avians here.” She folded her arms and wondered silently over just where this little pup had come from.

“Oh, there you are.” The sound of another voice drew their attention away from the curious little newcomer. There from beyond the archway stood a familiar figure standing proudly in white garbs and gleaming armor of the royal guard.

Lumia had returned.


	10. A Reflection of News

“I don’t believe I’ve met your friend here have I, Glauce?” Lumia was the first to speak amongst the three of them. She took a few weightless steps to her niece with a smile that was a welcome contrast to the displeased scowl that Umbra had worn, when the latter royal had greeted them earlier in the day. “Someone you picked up on your way home?” While the sandy haired woman did not embrace Glauce like Luna had, there was a warmth that shone through in her words that rang of how deeply she cared for the Princess - perhaps even more than her own Mother. Really, the possibility of that being true wouldn’t come as a surprise at all, Jake mused for a second.

“I didn’t pick her up, oh gosh no.” Glauce found herself scooting away from Jake subconsciously as she answered. “More like she picked me up.”

“Well, in a way. I don’t think I actually could pick you up.” Jake made a cutting motion with her hand above her head as a way to show just how short she was next to the Royal. Glauce silently thanked the fact that Jake at least was putting on a better disposition while she was in front of Lumia.

“I heard from some of the castle staff as I returned that you and another individual had escorted my niece back from wherever she had been chased off to. I only regret that I wasn’t there to aid the search since I was on the opposite end of the Kingdom.” Lumia’s serene expression clouded over with the faintest of sorrow as she reflected on the week's events. “But to know you are here safe is the perfect way to end my scouting run.”

“That bad out there huh?” Jake found herself wondering what Lumia could have even found in the wilds. Jake kept up with the goings on in Lemuria the best she could, but with staying at Nereida Isle to oversee Tethys’s health - and then later to care over Glauce - the last week's events were completely lost to her.

“You could say that.” Lumia hardly wanted to dwell on the grave news the Moon Dragons' destruction, or the fact that the pup that was rolling around in the flowerbeds was probably the last of her kind. “But during our mission neither Kategida nor Traveller were harmed or fallen ill, so that’s good.”

“What about this little one?” Glauce knelt down next to Crepusculum and tried to coax her out of continuing to make a mess of the flowers. “I didn’t know Moon Dragons were so penchant to part with their young.”

“She was allowed to come back with us.” Lumia felt the lie drip from her lips without a second thought of where to take it. “Crepusculum is to be part of the Royal Family until further notice. It seems that the Moon Dragons are just as wary as we are with the recent goings on.”

The infant drake's long ears perked up at hearing her name and she at once ceased her tromping of the flowers and righted herself. Pulling her body along the ground she headbutted Lumia’s knee and nuzzled her. Glauce stood back up mirroring Lumias motion of kneeling next to the dragon pup and waited attentively in case Lumia would continue to speak.

“By that, you mean the heavy mists in the Flooded Plains and monsters becoming more aggressive right?” As much as it intrigued her to know what the Royals were up to, it was the strangeness of the sudden happenings in the world that Jake wanted most to ask Lumia ab?.l/;.out. Despite being one of the most seasoned trailblazers in Lemuria, she could tell things were more abnormal than usual. “I never got a chance to ask the Queen, but I want to know about the goings on in the Palace of the Sun as well. If you can tell us anything about that anyway.”

Lumia blinked, almost letting out a gasp at being asked so many direct questions at once. It was even more surprising to her that a Capilli of all creatures was the one asking questions; she was so used to them being rather shy to those outside their Tribe. She caught herself starring and cleared her throat.

“Pardon me, I just had to think of how best to answer the little list you gave me.” There was a hint of a laugh in her voice that made Jake resist a frown; was she talking down to her? Something about it bothered the shorter woman, as much as it couldn't be any malicious intent by the regal Royal. Lumia continued, “But the weather changes and the monsters behaving out of the norm seem to be related, that much is true.”

Crepusculum yawned loudly and rolled onto her back to sun herself, bored with whatever conversation the grown ups were having. Her disruption eased the tension enough to allow Lumia to recollect and try to better explain herself.

“I apologize, that was rather vague. While the scouting took us in the opposite direction of the Cynbel Sea, we did receive messages from other rangers and runners that what you mentioned about the thick mist was true. There have also been more troops deployed around Central City and our other towns to defend and prepare for any monsters that are foolish enough to attack. Speaking of that...” The paladin directed her attention to the silent Glauce. “What was the identity of the beasts that chased you to Nereida? I only heard that you were safe once you arrived her in the Palace, but the details were not divulged.”

“It, it was a flock of Owls. The kind with the purple crests that look like the Mainland's Eagle Owls.” Glauce placed her hands on the sides of her face and perked her pointer fingers to illustrate their form. “Those really mean ones that live in the darkest parts of Mathildis Forest.” She realized how silly she looked and withdrew her hands. “They all just rushed me at once when I was on the beach.”

“That’s not typical behavior for them either your ladyship,” Jake added with a surprising bit of formality. “Especially if their target suddenly changes from a young woman into a dragon.”

"Indeed. It's much more typical for monsters to run at the sight of something bigger.” Lumia looked rather perplexed hearing that Glauce was pursued even in her shifted form. “I’m sure that you and whoever else was with you ruled out territory disputes.”

“Yes, my friend who’s back in his resting quarters here and I know most of the aggressive monsters of Lemuria can be turned away by magic or by sheer intimidation. Glauce has both at her disposal.” Jake pointed with her thumb back at the princess. Funny though, she thought suddenly, how she had never witnessed Glauce breathe fire while in her dragon form.

“I’m sure that the Queen will tell me more," Lumia assured them. "I’m sure that you don’t want to be repeating yourself all day after all, Glauce.”

Crepusculum yawned once more in a futile effort to direct all attention to her. She went ignored for all of a few seconds before the Conqueror's Avatar laughed softly, kneeling down once more to cup the dragon’s cheek. “You’ll have to excuse my little companion here. She’s awfully needy.”

“She’s fine, I welcome little Crep anytime here to the Palace of Explorers.” Although Glauce did not yet know the full circumstances behind the little one's arrival, she did not object at all to her staying here.

“Yeah, something about this little guy is sure a welcome sight,” Jake agreed, watching the Moon Dragon wag her tail idly and nuzzle back against Lumia’s hand.

\----------

Alone in his temporary quarters, Knarl set his spear against the dresser before sitting down, letting his mind wander. The room was not as heavily decorated as the hallways or the throne room. Still, it had four beds - two on each side - with a dresser against the wall away from the doors. To his left were two large stained glass windows depicting the moon and sun sigils of the Three Relics. The dresser had a large intricate mirror placed on top that had a frame adorned with motifs of Moon Dragons. There were no tapestries on the wall and the only wall décor amongst the stony walls were a few candle mounts. Overall, it was rather cozy, albeit far different from his own home.

Having been shooed away so intently by Jake, he suspected that his friend was going to confront Glauce about her shortcomings. It was inevitabl in a way. As much as Luna cared for her grandchild, the closed-off manner in which she had raised her had left Glauce rather... stunted, for lack of kinder words.

His mind wandered from Glauce to Luna. She seemed to be a nice person, much better company than the uptight and prideful Umbra. He didn’t trust her, but to read any malice into her actions seemed beyond ridiculous, at least for now. The idea of trust furthered his spiralling thoughts and he trailed back to what Luna had said regarding his prophetic title.

“The Father of a Thief.” He said out loud to himself. Sitting down on the nearest bed he stared aimlessly ahead. He couldn't think of a single person of his generation in his clan being the culprit behind Luna's vision, never mind the little pup still sleeping softly in their egg back at his rainy home. The Lindworm Clan had little to no business with the daily occurrences of Lemuria, but they were on good enough terms. The idea of anyone back in his village committing the theft of a Relic was absurd; that his own child might grow up to be the one to take the treasure, even more so.

Knarl did not consider himself a perfect person; according to him no-one was. But there was a fine line between making mistakes and committing a crime so terrible it could jeopardize the entire wellbeing of their Kingdom. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, while powerful together, still shone in their individual potential in distinct ways. From the tales Jake had overheard, the Sun would give their owner unfathomable strength, the Moon would let its owner bear the brunt of any attack with nary a scratch, and the Stars would grant the power of flight to any being who owned it.

He wondered if it were possible to seek council with Luna once more or if she would refuse to speak with him. The latter seemed unlikely as she seemed through their encounter to be a patient and understanding woman. Even so, something nagged at him that she was hiding much more than she let on. The strain of age and a missing limb were altogether different to the stress of keeping secrets. Knarl was a Lindworm of few secrets; the only secrets he kept were the whereabouts of hidden materials from Jake when she visited, lest they disappeared for some half-baked potion sometime while he and Tethys slept.

Knarl let out a tremendous yawn. It seemed best to question the Queen after dinner was delivered to the room. If he departed to seek her counsel, perhaps it would arouse suspicion from the rest of the staff for whatever reason. He didn’t want to add another thing to worry about to his already pressing need to return home to his wife.

Before he could let his thoughts gnaw away at him furthermore, there was a rap upon the door. Springing to his feet Knarl almost ran to open it, wondering who it could be.There was a squeak from the Traveller girl on the other side; she seemed to not have expected to be serving the giant of a man looming over her. She fumbled for a moment and nearly dropped the plates she was carefully balancing.

“My apologies, you startled me is all sir! I knew that I would be delivering a meal to a Lindworm but I had no idea just how tall you were.” The girl looked down at the plate and stammered, struggling to explain herself coherently without being awkward. Knarl didn’t laugh but all the same he felt a smile grace his face, breaking the scowl he had gained while stewing in his own thoughts alone.

The servant girl continued to trip over her words in apology before practically shoving one of the plates into his hands out of anxiousness. Knarl wondered if Glauce was projecting her nervous habits to this poor girl wherever she was at the moment.

“Hey there, don’t feel like you need to impress me.” He steadied the plate in one hand and opened the door the whole way as to allow the girl to deliver the rest of the food. “Don’t hurt yourself now.”

She immediately rushed over to a nearby dresser and set down the other two plates that she was balancing on her other hand and arm. Looking back to Knarl she only kept apologizing until she found herself back at the entryway; she fumbled at the door, failing horribly at closing it behind her, before hurrying down the hall, breaking into an outright dash once she was a polite distance away.

Knarl stood there a little dumbfounded. He knew himself to be a rather formidable looking person, but compared to a Kategida that were common tribe in Lemuria, he was simply just a tall man at face value as opposed to having a set of giant teeth and tremendous bear-like claws. He mused it was the fact that their fluffy fur coats made them more approachable than him.

Ugh! Why was he thinking about something that trivial anyway? His eyes wandered back to the plates left for him and his band of friends. There was still a slight crackling of citrus juices on the fish that had been prepared, a collection of simple greens and rooted vegetables which he guessed was Glauce’s dish, a plethora of local fruits to Mathildis Forest, and three plain jugs of water. He wondered if Jake would later be kicking herself for not ordering mead or another heavy drink.

His stomach gave an ornery growl and he realized just how hungry he was. Jake and Glauce sure were taking their time it seemed. Knarl’s wandering mind became hung up on just how much he had been focusing on Luna’s words; had that much time really passed with him being alone? With a grumble he waved his worrisome thoughts away and sat down at the table with his own plate. 

The fish was rather tangy for his taste; he blamed it on the oranges. It was still pleasant, and Knarl knew that the manner of how it was cooked and prepared meant that the staff were proud of the work they had done. He hoped that the others would return soon as food that was set out too long was always unappetizing. The only thing that Jake could have rushed off Glauce for was a little lesson in how to better deal with her shortcomings. The Lindworm secretly hoped that once they came back that they would still be on good terms.

Knarl's thoughts were answered in the form of a little Moon Dragon, peeking her head in through the door left slightly ajar by the flighty Traveler girl. It took him a moment to realize just what he was looking at as the dragon nudged the door open with her snout and pulled herself inside. Knarl watched in silence as she didn’t even acknowledge him and crawled along the floor to where the window was and hoisted herself up to the sill. Giving a yawn, her long ears twitched as she curled up, having found the perfect resting spot to wait for the moonlight in.

“Funny,” came a familiar voice, “he seemed to know exactly what door to go into.” After the dragon came Jake with Glauce right behind her; to Knarl’s relief, Glauce’s pleasant demeanor seamed to signify that their talk had been well received. Accompanying the pair was a woman that Knarl had never seen before garbed in white ranger robes. The stranger was silent but had her eyes on the sleeping Moon Dragon.

Glauce walked past Jake to the window and rested her arms on the sill as means to keep the pup company. “Goodness she’s rather sneaky isn’t she?”

“Well the door was ajar anyway,” said Knarl. “The little one seemed more inclined just to find a place to nap.” He diverted his attention away from the whelp and motioned to the other plates. “While you were off the staff dropped off your orders too, I suggest eating before it spoils.” His tone was that of concern rather than a command, having come to realise this was their only proper meal in an age, notwithstanding the small portions they had put away before leaving Nereida Isle. Upon realising that he had been ignoring the third woman, he took a glance over at her, and his eyes fell on the necklace she wore that depicted a silver waning moon.

The Conqueror’s Avatar.

“Forgive me, Lumia.” He bowed his head slightly. “My attention was focused on the wellbeing of my friends.”

“You need not worry,” the newcomer replied, staying at the entrance. “Despite what you may think, us Lemurian Royals aren’t as uptight as the Mainland ones.”

Knarl nodded in understanding, though he swore he heard Jake mutter an “Umbra could have fooled me” under her breath. “Your Queen’s hospitality has been wonderful, and I’m sure that you and the others have the same amount of generosity. Forgive me if I seem anxious as I’m just wanting to return home at the sight of tomorrows daybreak.”

“Yes, Jake mentioned you wanting to return to your family. I wish I could say that I understood your feelings on this matter but I have no direct family or children. Glauce calls me auntie every now and then as we see so much of each other. And my friend Oengus could argue that little Crepusculum is my adopted daughter, at least for the time being.”

At this the dragon fidgeted in her nap and her lengthy tail wagged in sleepy stupor. There was a dull thwack as Crepusculum’s tail lazily hit Glauce’s side and the princess snapped out of her daydream and looked back to the others in the room.

“Speaking of which… Aunt Lumia, is it ok if I stay with them after I finish dinner? This will be my last night with them for some time.” Her nervous tic of grabbing her other arm shone through again and Jake fought to keep from groaning. Of course, Glauce wouldn’t change overnight, but seeing her still fall back on her shrinking violet habits annoyed the Capilli.

“Of course it is. Now I shouldn’t keep you two from your meals. Let me just see if I can get our little stowaway out of here without a fuss.” Lumia made her way to the window and with an unbecoming grunt managed to lift up the still slumbering dragon. Adjusting her weight and getting Crepusculum’s head to rest against her shoulder required a dual effort from her and her niece.

“Little noodle there is a sound sleeper,” Jake observed. She grabbed an orange from her plate and absentmindedly started peeling it as the two royals tangoed with keeping the dragon from slipping out of Lumia’s grip.

“When Oengus was with me we had an easier time carrying her,” Lumia groaned. She spoke more softly as Crep’s ears were right next to her mouth. “He’s off with his brothers right now training diligently as always. Perhaps he will say hi to you later in the night before it gets too late, Glauce.” While they were of different classes, Oengus and Lumia were usually seen together as they worked in the same scouting force. It was just the matters of dealing with the Moon Dragon and wanting to stem his nerves from the sights he saw that had kept him from Lumia’s company when she arrived to find Glance in the garden. Oengus was not a good bluffer; Lumia knew well that he he didn’t want to let slip any grave news about little Crep’s rarity that might alarm the Princess.

 

“That would be nice. I’m sure that both of you have plenty to tell me about your scouting trips.”

“Yes, you know how he loves to tell stories.” Making sure the dragon was comfortable enough, Lumia carefully walked out and nudged the door a little. “He will have plenty to tell you when the sun rises tomorrow.” With that, the door shut behind her with only enough force to let it say shut, it would need to be pulled for the latch to fall in place.

“Hmm…” Jake took a bite of the fruit as she kept her eyes on the door, “Is Oengus her scouting companion?”

“Yes,” Glauce replied, taking a seat on the bed across from where Knarl sat and picking a little at her greens. “He’s a member of the Kategida tribe. He and the rest of his kin are employed by my Grandmother to assist Traveler Scouts when they search the wilds of Lemuria for any kind of trouble.” 

“They’re the best hunters after all,” Jake admitted. “While a Bolmus is good at the market and my kind are good at fashioning magic, a Kategida with their heightened senses can track for days and be able to blaze a trail whenever they please. Then again, their large builds and their big claws obviously help when it comes to that. But…” she tore the rest of the orange into even bits and winked, “no one can compare to a Lindworm in the water.”

Knarl chuckled at his friend’s would-be praise and pushed his plate away. “I appreciate the compliment, but I feel like I’m more fit in my human form sometimes often than not.”

“You got us across Cynbel Sea in the time it would take a Mainland ship just to navigate through the Flooded Plains to the east,” Glauce added as she finally took a bite of her meal. “That’s definitely saying something.”

“I guess you’re right,” conceded Knarl humbly. Now if only you were that confident about yourself you poor girl, he thought. The man stretched his arms and adjusted his seating. “Either way, I hope you two were staying out of trouble while I was here.” He felt much better turning the subject away from himself. Being intensely curious as to just what exactly the two had talked about before rendezvousing with Lumia, he did his best not to sound too antagonising. 

“If you’re thinking I was helping myself to anything that wasn’t nailed down, you’re wrong. I have a little self control.” Jake grinned as she cut a portion of fish for herself. “I may have to to stress the ‘little’ of that last sentence.”

“She didn’t swipe anything,” Glauce assured from across the room as soon as she had finished her bite. “It was nice going to the garden with her though. I hope that we didn’t leave you alone here for too long.” She realized that their little escapade could have been seen as selfish. After all the effort Knarl had put in getting them to the Palace of Explorers by his own sweat and toil, the pair had run off unthinkingly without him.

“Don’t trouble yourself,” the Lindworm replied, covering his mouth as he yawned. “I should apologize myself for not being that talkative.”

“I’ll agree to that yawn at least.” Jake rolled her shoulders and wolfed down the rest of her plate and with a sloppy toss let it clatter on the dresser and nearly knocked Knarl’s spear off to the side. “We’ve been going since the break of dawn.”

“I was wondering why my eyelids feel so heavy, and here I was thinking that dinner felt heavier than usual.” Glauce picked at her salad a few more times before finishing the rest in a quickened manner.

“Glauce, that’s just a bunch of leaves and some light dressing, if you think that’s heavy then I wouldn’t want to introduce you to Capilli Cuisine anytime soon. Otherwise, you might become anchored to the floor.” Out of habit Jake went to pull a roll of mint from her satchel but caught herself, remembering that they weren’t back in Knarl’s abode nor were they out on a journey. “On second thought… I don’t want to catch Holy Hell from your Mother if she finds out that this entire room permanently smells like an herb garden.” Begrudgingly, she put the roll away.

“I don’t think she’ll object to you smoking outside,” Knarl spoke through another yawn as he took a glance over to the princess. “Will you be staying here with us for the night?”

“There’s an extra bed here right? If that’s alright with you I would like to stay in your company until you leave. I’ll miss you both terribly.”

“I’m sure we’ll find some way to meet again.” Jake reassured her, “After all, sometimes I go for weeks without seeing Knarl and we’re the most tight-knit friendship in all of Lemuria.”

“Is that true?” Glauce nearly gasped at hearing this. She knew from all the yarns that Jake spun back when she was staying on Nereida Isle that the Capilli traveled across Lemuria and the Mainland quite often, but to know she was gone for that long of a time seemed ludicrous to her.

“Yes, sometimes she doesn’t even have the manners to send a letter for how she’s doing. I know that pigeons can’t make the trip across Cynbel Sea, but the Pisceans make routine trips between their outposts and our village.” Knarl slouched a little but wore a grin as he recollected his friend’s habits. “But I know she’s always fine. There’s never been a single time where Jake hasn’t wormed her way out of trouble, and just like the tide going in and out, knowing Jake will make her return is inevitable.”

He must have a lot of confidence in her, Glauce thought in silence. While it wasn’t hot aired boasting as Knarl spoke the truth about his friends endeavors, it was amazing that no matter what Jake faced on her travels, she was able to live to tell the tale. Many knew the Capilli to be a rather fearful, skittish tribe when taken out of their comfort zone; the opposite could seem to be said for the red-clad ranger.

“You make me out to sound like a hero on the same level as Lumia.” Jake also donned a grin as she fell back onto the bed and stretched out. “If the Mainland had their way with me I’m sure I’d be in jail by now with how I get into so much trouble.” The Capilli let out a cackle that was so full of delight and humor that the others joined in with their own laughter.

“Trouble maker or not, you’re absolutely silly is what you are Jake.” Glauce clambered over to the bed across from the older woman as she tried to stem her giggle fit.

“Silly?” Jake snapped to attention in an exaggerated manner and sat up with a start. “That’s probably the worst thing anyone has ever called me.”

“I can think of plenty worse things Tethys has called you in the past week.” Knarl was smiling so broadly that his eyes squinted; perhaps simple banter between friends is what he needed for now to calm his worried nerves. “But some of those things wouldn’t be in proper taste with Glauce listening.”

“I’m not a child, Knarl!” The Princess felt her face heat up in embarrassment at both his comment and her sudden outburst. “But you’re right, I think it’s best I don’t find out.”

“Oh you really don’t want to know do you Glauce?” Jake wiggled in place excitably and donned a Cheshire-esque grin.

“No I don’t want to know.”

“Alright then.” The Capilli put her hands up. “You’ve talked me into it.”

“N-no! Jake stop I said I didn’t want to know what Tethys calls you.”

“Now I’m warning you, it’s a little harsh for your tender Royal ears.”

“Jake!”

“Idiot.”

There was a stunned silence. The manner in which Jake had spoken her last word was done in such a way and in a distinct pitch that the others knew she was parroting Tethys. She beamed at the other two and folded her hands in a matter-of-fact way on her crossed legs and said not another word.

There was a guffaw of laughter from the room that could be heard down the hallway.

\------------

Luna sat on her throne within the darkness of night in solitude. She had made sure that Franklin and his able staff carried out the requests the three put in. All the events and musings from before started to seep back into her old mind and she rested her chin on the back of her hand. The Moon Dragons, the Will of Cynbel and what his aura had done to said Dragon Tribe.

There was also the matter of why the Palace of the Sun was “closed.” It was a reason that she felt was necessary as to keep the rest of Lemuria ignorant until the time was right. Not even Umbra knew about the true intents of the closure and while Luna felt guilty that she had to keep yet another secret something nagged at her that this choice was for the best. Perhaps it was her ebbing foresight, perhaps it was just a gut feeling, either way Umbra would only find out once the project was finished.

She felt the area in her left arm socket ache and the Queen winced. It annoyed her more than ever in her old age, but it was tolerable for now. The device being worked on in the deep-sea palace was not something unheard of, for Luna had witnessed a brilliant man from the Far East many centuries ago create devices that were automated without living flesh to move them. While magic was used in Lemuria to give life to rocks and create Golem familiars and weaponry, a truly automatic device much less a being of metal was far out of their grasp. Many technological and scientific advancements had been destroyed in the European Mainland in the past few decades and while the Queen managed to keep a friendly alliance with the countries in their immediate territory, she felt that with Lemuria’s magical knowledge, the Church would be breathing down their necks at any moment.

The Queen had no quarrel with religion at all, but the blind faith she saw many succumbing to was alarming. Humans were hurting each other over things that were trivial in their short spans of life. It was that same blind faith that had cost Luna her arm and set Glauce on her path to becoming Lemuria’s next ruler. She tightened her fist and exhaled loudly in frustration as she wondered how long it would be until Lemuria would have to fight for its rights.

“Mother?”

Luna snapped to attention and her eyes darted to the end of the throne room’s hallway. Umbra was standing patiently across her way, an unreadable expression etched into her face.

“I’m sorry dear,” Luna tapped the temple of her head. “Lost in thought.”

“The Queen of Lemuria shouldn’t be so easily distracted.” Umbra spoke with an authoritative voice that while firm was only a fraction of the harshness that she used while speaking in the presence of Knarl and Jake. “A moment of weakness and you might lose more than just a limb.”

“I appreciate your concern Umbra, but please trust me when I tell you that I am fine.”

“You might be, but is Lemuria fine?” Umbra folded her arms and cocked her head to the side in such a way that it was practically a taunt. “I heard the Kategida talking amongst themselves about what happened to the Moon Dragons.”

Luna felt her heart ice over.

“Is there any truth to what they speak of, Mother?”

“Yes,” she lowered her head and relaxed back into her chair, “it’s true. The Moon Dragon in Lumia’s charge named Crepusculum is the last of her kind. She is the only survivor from the Dragons Nest of the Cliffs of Erin.”

“So I see.” Umbra’s stoic expression faltered to one of sympathy. “What a tragedy. I only hope that whatever caused it doesn’t happen again. What if we wake up one day to discover that all the Kategida are turned to stone or that the Capilli find themselves all transformed into birds?”

“I can promise you that with my powers I can prevent any other disasters from occurring within Lemuria.” Luna adjusted herself and flexed her hand. Umbra’s concerns were understandable, but all the same, the very idea of any of it happening - should her wishes to the Four Explorers be skewed like last time - filled her with dread. She fought to keep her fears from showing, lest Umbra detect some signs of weakness and question her position to rule even further. 

For now at least, it seemed to be working.

“Very well, you’ve been guiding us for the past several centuries, pardon my recent doubts, Mother, I have Lemuria’s best interests in heart as we have lived here as long as we have existed. This world must be protected for the Royals.”

“Not just us Umbra, but for everyone who lives here.” The Queen stressed her words before slowly getting to her feet, “Now, I think I’ve mediated a little too much on this crummy old chair, maybe it is best if we both retire to our rooms.”

“If I may speak freely mother.”

“Yes, you always can.”

“You look like you need about three days worth of rest. Are you positive that fight you had with that brutish Lindworm didn’t tax your body more than you think?” Umbra walked to her mother’s side and took her hand to steady her while they walked to the doors that were slowly opened once more by the ever-vigilant Golems.

“Umbra, you’re going to stress yourself into sickness. Then who’s going to protect me and Glauce?” she gave a weary cackle as she leaned against her daughter for support. “Don’t worry, fighting a well meaning fisherman isn’t going to do the Queen of Lemuria in.”

“I guess you’re right,” Her hold on her mother strengthened as they made their way out of the throne room. “And every castle needs its Queen.”

“I only wish I was able bodied enough to travel to our cities and towns to show my gratitude for how much our Tribes have made this continent what it is today.” Luna grumbled in frustration.

“Lemuria has grown well under your rule Mother, don’t think otherwise.” Umbra found herself looking at the tapestry that depicted the lengthy black serpent being torn asunder by the equally jet colored Manticore. Umbra wondered if there would ever be a time where there would be a need to call on such a great power to protect Lemuria ever again.

But in the depths of the Cynbel Sea, ignorant to all but a few, a brass exoskeleton of a hand twitched and crackled to life.

Luna’s time was coming.


	11. Breaking off

Glauce woke to a glint of morning sun. Grumbling softly she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched, feeling refreshed that she had slept in a bed more akin to what she was used to. She kept a yawn down as to not wake the other two who might have been still asleep. The Princess shifted a little in place to get a better look at her friends.

Jake’s antenna light was dim showing that she was yet to awaken, while Knarl had already sat up and was quietly stretching. The man seemed to take notice that Glauce had stirred awake and gave her a nod, acknowledging her in silence. She decided to follow suite and get ready, swinging her legs around as to not let the bed creak and wake their slothful friend.

“I haven’t seen her sleep like that the whole week,” Glauce remarked, finding a smidge of bravery in the silence.

“She honestly exhausts herself with how much she stays up,” Knarl responded in a surprisingly soft voice as well. “But the plan was to start heading home as soon as morning came. So, when she wakes, it will be time for us to part ways for now.” There was a melancholy in his heart, but all the same the Lindworm wanted truly nothing more than to be home with his wife.

It wasn’t that Knarl didn’t care about Glauce or her wellbeing; he knew however that she had family here to protect and look after her too. Meeting with Luna and Lumia was enough to affirm that assumption that the Princess was well looked after, although Umbra was a rather prickly parent for his tastes. Tethys wouldn’t approve of how she treated her daughter in the slightest. But Luna allowed Umbra to continue being her rather uptight self for some reason or another; he wouldn’t confront her about though, since he couldn't risk another complication delaying his departure for home.

“Knarl?" Glauce's voice pierced his thoughts. "Is something wrong?”

He snapped to attention and adjusted his shirt. “Still a little sleepy myself I guess.” He rubbed his chin and felt a bristle of whiskers growing. The scratchiness only seemed to further distract him into silence, leaving Glauce further puzzled.

“It’s more like you’re really thinking hard about something.” Though Glauce was naïve as ever, she still was able to tell when things were off. “Is it ... your family?"

“Yes, ever since I woke up. I think I even dreamed about them,” he admitted. He decided not to share the fact that he had been thinking of her family as well.

"It's no surprise that you'd miss them. Back in the village, you hardly left Tethys' side.” The Princess stood up and started to nudge the sleeping ranger. A few shakes and Jake still didn’t rise.

Knarl only made a vague noise in response as he watched the girl’s futile attempts to wake the Capilli. “You know... I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jake wake up to anything but her own devices honestly. Not even Tethys shouting at her could stir her.” He rubbed an ear, thinking of how he had been the one woken up during those times instead. Oh did his wife have a shrill voice when she wanted.

“I really doubt that she could sleep through a thunderstorm.” Glauce gave another shove.

“You’d be surprised by what Jake can and can’t do.”

“Oh-!”

Glauce had pushed her too hard on her last attempt and Jake went lazily slipping off the bed and landed with a dull thud. There was a snort as the Capilli woke up and flailed in the sheets that now were in the midst of tangling her up.

“Glauce what’s the big idea?!” She rolled in place to face the clammed up Princess. Her cheeks were puffed up and red from embarrassment as she looked at the two of them. “Well, um,” muttering her attitude shifting a little, “the least you two could do is help me out from this.”

“The Great Jake, defeated by a few bed sheets! What a tragic end to her tale.” Knarl failed to still a laugh as he grasped at his friend’s hand and pulled her up so that she could at least sit. Glauce scooted away from where she had shoved Jake and smoothed her nightgown out in effort to not bring attention to herself.

“Very funny.” Jake’s angler light gave a soft pulsing glow for a minute as she pulled the sheets away from her. “I appreciate being waken up for things like any other person but try to avoid the whole “shoving me out of the bed” thing please.” Despite her crotchety words there was a lack of harshness in her voice.

“Well by the time you’d finally woken up it would be sundown.” Knarl offered his hand again to allow Jake to get to her feet. She easily hopped up and dusted her red garments off.

“I really doubt that. But we are on a tight schedule.” She knew how much the Lindworm wanted to return to Nereida Isle. “Breakfast in town then?”

“You’re not going to stay here for that?” cried Glauce, taken aback at how they were going to leave with such urgency. “Ah- I mean... it wouldn’t be of any extra charge to you or anything.” She lowered her head sheepishly as she realized how selfish her request could seem.

“Eh, is anyone even up at this time?” Jake made her way to the dresser and started to go about refitting her belts, vest, and other traveling keepsakes. “I know you were ready to rise and lend a helping hand and claw back in Nereida, but I’m not going to hold my breath for the others here in this castle.” _Especially your mother_ , she thought to herself. _That witch must always be waking up on the wrong side of the bed, given her winning personality._

“I’m sure that we can find some hole in the wall serving tea and your favorite bean water in Central City,” Knarl reassured the still dressing Capilli. “Not that we don’t appreciate the gesture, Glauce, but the more distance we can get before needing to stop, the better.”

“I understand.” The Princess tried not to let her disappointment show in her voice. She too got off the bed and walked to the doorway. “But while you get ready, may I excuse myself? I’m going to go get something for the two of you if that’s ok.”

“Make it quick then,” Jake replied, looking over her shoulder, “if you take too long Knarl might just scoop you up and take you back with us.”

Glauce nodded and quickly dipped out as Jake finished her sentence. As soon as the girl's hurried footsteps faded from earshot, Jake gave a drawn out groan.

“That poor girl is going to worry herself sick about us once we leave, Knarl! You sure there’s no way that we just can’t let her come back with us?”

Knarl, in the midst of slinging his spear over his shoulder, almost had the shaft strike him in the nose, fumbling from hearing such a proposition.

“You know, two weeks ago you would have been convincing me that it would be a better plan to have stolen away into the night and pilfered everything that wasn’t nailed down. Why the sudden change of heart?” He eyed his friend who now was taking her time tying down and fitting the rest of her garbs.

“Knarl, I’m no thief.” Jake flexed her hands as she fitted her gloves on. “Not like a Mainland brigand anyway. I like to think I have some class.”

“Some Travelers and Pilgrims alike in Lemuria would argue otherwise. The thief part anyway. But true, anyone in their right mind knows that you’re not only the classiest, but the bravest Capilli around.” Knarl saw that Jake’s cap had several untied laces near where her ponytail began. “Hold still for a second, you could really use some patching up here...”

“K-Knarl!” Jake froze up as he knelt down to her height and carefully went about rethreading her cap. It was easy enough to do since he made all his fishing nets back home. There was a heavy silence between the two of them as he finished his tying work.

“There, good as new.” Knarl said at last and withdrew his hands. Jake tilted her head back a little while hunching her shoulders slightly.

Jake stayed quiet as she ran her own hand over where the tear had been. She gave her hat a reassuring pat before turning back to her friend.

“You didn’t have to do that you know.” The Capilli rubbed her cheek and swore she could feel the heat of embarrassment through her glove.

“I know, but it takes no time at all, and who wants a trailblazer like yourself quite literally coming apart at the seams?” He smirked as he stood back up. “I need to put my talent into other things besides fishing soon. I’ll have to mend my child’s clothes in the future. Maybe if you keep getting scuffed up from your travels though I can have plenty of practice.”

“Shucks, is that what I am now?” Jake's comeback had a hint of annoyance but she smiled just the same. “Well, if it’s anything that’ll make sure your child has a good life, then I’m down for it.”

“That’s the spirit, now I think we’ve spent enough time dawdling, As soon as Glauce comes back, we’re heading out.” Knarl doubled checked the room for anything he might have forgotten.

“She shouldn’t be too long. She knows that you’re pressed for time after all.” Jake on the other hand was milling for anything she would know wouldn’t be missed if she indeed wanted to take something for herself.

For whatever reason Glauce momentarily flashed in her mind and the desire to pilfer anything subsided instantly. Jake felt her cheeks flare up again and felt a wave of embarrassment at what she had just thought.

“You’re doing alright there?” Knarl was once again at her side.

“Yeah, yeah I am. Right as rain, not like I bumped my head when Glauce pushed me off the bed or anything.” She rolled her eyes and to her relief felt the heat dissipate from her face.

The two of them exchanged further plans for their quick trek back to Nereida Isle, As as soon as she saw Knarl off safely to his home, Jake would once again resume her trailblazing across Lemuria. While the Capilli mused happily about all the other pilgrims she might be able to swindle a deal from, the creaking of the door jarred her out of her scheming. Glauce peeked in and a weak smile graced her lips before she shuffled inside. 

The Princess had one of her hands closed tightly, something clearly valuable was within it as held her hand fast against her chest. 

“Oh thank goodness, you’re both still here.” She gave out a relieved sigh but made no sign of easing her grip. 

“You don’t need to worry Glauce.” Knarl reassured her, noticing her tenseness. “What was it that you exactly brought back?”

“These? Well…” Relaxing her hand, Glauce revealed three golden rings that were each faceted by an emerald of varied size. “I’ve had these as long as I can remember. Mother gave them to me shortly after one of Luna’s travels to the mainland. I never had a reason to wear all three of them at once. I figured it would be nice if we could split the three of them amongst ourselves as a memento of our meeting and time together.”

“Are you sure your mother will approve of this?” Knarl furrowed his brows at the gift. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate this, it’s just. Well, how do I put this…”

“He’s worried that your Mum is going to give you what for if you give away something like this,” Jake interjected. Her eyes had locked onto the gems right as Glauce unveiled them. The Capilli cautiously put her hand out, beckoning the Princess to bring them closer, which she did. Jake let her gloved hands gently mull over the rings. The Capilli let out a gasp of awe.

“These aren’t even your common kind of occuli, much less an everyday gem. This is some Brilliant Occuli alright - the best grade I’ve ever seen. They’re so small too! Usually Brilliant Occuli are big and kind of cumbersome, all the ones I have are back at my hometown. Carrying that stuff would make me as slow as an northern ice floe...” Jake let her mouth run as she was fascinated by the precious stones.

“Please, the both of you.” Glauce urged her hand against Jake’s gloves. “Take them. They’re yours to keep.” She scrunched her shoulders in such an earnest sincerity that Knarl was taken aback.

“Alright, Glauce.” Knarl held his hand out, “I might have to refit it later, but I will make sure to wear it as a keepsake.”

“I’ll probably just make a necklace out of mine, I’m wearing gloves day in and day out anyway.” Jake grinned as she gave her answer.

“Oh thank you both.” Glauce let out another sigh as she gave them both a ring and then slid the remaining one onto one of her pale fingers. She twiddled her digits a little at the fit, and a smile fragile as porcelain slowly formed on her face. It was very evident that she was trying to hold back tears, knowing that they would be leaving in the next few minutes. “It means so much, really.”

“I bet.” Surprisingly, Jake’s reply was not drenched with sarcasm; there was a rare hint of comfort in it that harkened back to when she had first cared for the Princess on Nereida Isle. “The day I lose this thing’ll be the day I die.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic.” Knarl rolled his eyes as he carefully pocketed the ring he was given. “You’ll frighten Glauce at this rate.”

“Hey now.” The Princess puffed her cheeks out. “I’m not that big of a scaredy cat!”

“It’s all a jest, trust me.” Jake placed her ring in one of her glove pockets and double tied it shut. “Now Glauce, there’s one last thing I have to request on my end before we leave.”

“What’s that?” The Princess tilted her head, surprised at Jake's abrupt segue. Jake cleared her throat as she went over her pockets and belt satchels. Her angler light glowed for a second as she made eye contact with the Royal.

“Make sure to take care of yourself.” It was a simple request, if not abrupt. “Knarl and I won’t be here all the time obviously, and while I feel Luna and the others have all best intentions for you, just um, yeah. Take care of yourself.” She rubbed her cheek. “And I’ll see what I can do about sneaking into the castle to pay a visit every now and then.”

Knarl knew Jake added that last bit to save face. Then again, while it was true they wouldn’t be at the castle again for quite some time, that reassurance for Glauce was still necessary. Maybe them being there would be enough to jar the other Palace residents into changing their mannerisms around Glauce, in effort to help her grow.

The quiet between them was made evident as the Princess cleared her throat and a tint of blush shone through.

“Oh sorry, we’re supposed to be leaving aren’t we?” Jake slapped her hands together and scooted past the other two to the doorway. “Come on now Knarl, I know that the island’s not going anywhere but the longer we keep Tethys waiting the worse it’s going to be for the both of us.” She urged the Lindworm to the door.

“Maybe for you, but not for me.” Knarl too went to take his leave but paused to allow Glauce to exit first. “Glauce, I know you must stay at the palace, but if you want you can follow us as far as you’ll be allowed.”

Glauce only nodded to Knarl’s suggestion and followed him closely; her head low and her shoulders scrunched up again. He knew she was still trying to hold back inventible tears.

There was a heavy silence as the three of them walked down the castle hallways. The thick carpeting masked their footsteps, the only sounds were the gentle clicks of metal in Knarl’s belt and Jake’s countless clasp pockets. It felt like an eternity before they finally reached a set of doors that lead outside. A Golem sentry stationed to the side bowed to the Princess before pushing the doors open with ease.

The Princess shielded her eyes from the morning sun. Her pale skin almost refracted the brilliant light that washed over them. Jake muttered a curse word and rubbed her eyes while Knarl adverted his as they all adjusted in their different ways.

Once they became comfortable, they were all surprised to see Luna waiting for them. She was resting on her glaive for support and looking quite rigid, but her soft smile and watery eyes signaled that whatever strain she was feeling was a small price to pay, to show courtesy to the rescuers and friends of her granddaughter.

“Your Majesty.” Knarl corrected his posture while he cleared his throat. “We weren’t expecting to see you out here by-“

“Myself?” Luna learned further into her glaive and smiled broadly. Cackling lightly she hobbled over to the trio. “Lumia and Umbra might have gone to attend to their own duties this bright and early morning, but I think it would be rude of me to not see you off given how much the two of you have done.”

“I appreciate the gesture,” Knarl replied. He took a few steps to meet the older Royal halfway so she didn’t need to strain herself any further. “Jake and I don’t need an entourage, but your blessing and thoughts are most welcome.”

Jake still mused over the fact that there hadn’t been some kind of reward save for the history lesson and “prophecy” the Queen had given them the day before, but she kept a smile on her face. Something told her that Luna was exceptionally keen at being able to read body language.

“What he said, I’m surprised to see you here myself.” The Capilli shrugged.

“Well, there’s more to this little meeting than just me bidding you farewell.” Luna straightened herself up. Hearing this declaration Jakes eyes lit up in mischievous hope that maybe the Queen would part with some sort of gift as well; the red clad ranger had already promised herself not to sell the ring that Glauce had given her.

“And that is?” Jake mirrored Knarl's steps but hers were much hurried and eager than her tall companion's.

“In half a years time I will be showcasing something that I and my mages have been working on in the Palace of the Sun. Something that I think will revolutionize the world and ensure that Lemuria is protected against outside forces. Something I'd love you to return as guests to witness.”

“A weapon of some kind?” Knarl mused aloud, wondering what Luna of all people was up to.

“Not so much a weapon, although I could see how someone on the Mainland could utilize it that way.” Luna shook her head and looked down at the shawl that adorned where her arm should be. “Right now we rely on Occuli and fire to create the energy we need, but...” she looked back to the golem who was idly waiting at the door. “It’s too rare of a commodity. Occuli only exists on this continent and sparse amounts have only been found in Nereida Isle.”

“That’s correct, and on the island we mostly use what Occuli we find as supplements to whatever tools we’ve already made.” Knarl preferred to only use Occuli for medicinal purposes, as he felt they weren’t completely necessary. Then there was Jake was the opposite side of his coin in every way when it came to using the magical stones. Sometimes he wondered how she was able to carry so many contrasting Occuli and not have them set off some magical chain reaction.

His mind had wandered so much before Jake’s nagging elbow jammed the side of his leg, bringing him to attention. He cleared his throat and resumed, “But to see what you’ve created will certainly be something. I take it you’re waiting until the invention is ironed out.”

“Let us hope, one can’t be too sure with the world now, can we?” Luna gave a airy laugh as she found her place next to Glauce. “I wish the two of you the best of luck and fortune on your way home, or wherever else you find yourself going.”

“Likewise. Well, I mean you live in a palace, talking about fortune...” Jake couldn’t turn down a clever quip, but she wondered what the Queen meant by how they “couldn’t be too sure with the world.” Asking more on the matter would probably delay them until past noon, however, so she thought the better of it. Instead she gave a slight bow to the two Royals and took a few sauntering steps away from her traveling companion.

“Oi, Knarl, let's get going or your kid’s gonna be celebrating their 10th birthday at this rate.” Jake beckoned furiously with her hand.

“You’re right.” Knarl took a simple stride that matched the Capilli’s nearly frantic manner of walking, looking back over his shoulder he waved his final goodbyes. “Let us meet again in the future Glauce. Take care of yourself and your family.”

“I will!” The Princess called out as her two friends made tracks away from the Palace of Explorers. She waved back to them until they vanished around a switchback that would lead down to Central City. Glauce let her frantic waving dissipate as the gloom of realization ebbed back into her, and she instantly found herself desperately fighting back tears.

“They’ll be back again won’t they Grandmother?” she asked, heaving a heavy breath.

“Yes, I’m certain that there will be plenty more adventures for the two of them in Lemuria, and they will have more memories forged here in the Palace of Explorers,” Luna replied, comforting the youth. She let Glauce rest against her, and the little Royal finally shed her tears that she had been keeping at bay.

There was silence between the two of them for quite some time, the only noise being Glauce’s muffled crying. A loud rapping noise alerted the two of them and they looked over to see the Golem, which still had the door open diligently for them. Its beady black eyes seemed to glint in a way that showed concern and its jagged maw was hung in a manner that could suggest that it was about to inquire what was wrong.

But Golems couldn’t talk, and they couldn’t think. They were simply rocky automations charged with Occuli that were willed to do simple tasks around the palace and other places overseen by Luna’s forces.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the oddly behaving Golem and watched it closely as it once again rapped its giant claw on the door and nodded in urge for them to return.

“Grandmother?” Glauce raised her head up as she noticed the Queen had been staring rather fiercely at the Golem. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing dear. Blame my old age and my derailing thoughts. Come, let us go back inside. I’m sure a decent breakfast will make you feel better.”

Glauce let an arm rest around Luna’s waist for further stability and the two made their way back inside. Passing the Golem, Luna shot a quick glance to the towering monolith. The shine from it’s eyes had dimmed, but there was something there that was absent from the other identical Golems that populated the palace. It would be worth looking into at a later time. For right now she wanted to focus on getting Glauce into better spirits.

There was one bit of closure she needed though.

“Glauce?” Her voice was almost lost as the Golem shut the door behind them with a mighty thump.

“Yes?” Using her free hand, the girl managed to wipe away the last remnants of her tears.

“If you had the chance to go with Jake and Knarl on another adventure again, would you do it?” Luna looked ahead as she spoke.

“I- well, I would,” the Princess stammered, utterly surprised at the line of enquiry. “I would love to, but you, and Mother are here, and Lumia does her fair share of traveling Lemuria. Isn’t what she does enough?”

“I am not asking you about their duties, and I must stay here for my own reasons. Your Mother also has responsibilities under me as well. I ask again Glauce: Would you go out into Lemuria with those two if you were free to? Would your heart wish it?” The Queen's voice had no traces of sadness, but shockingly, more akin to that of an odd desperation.

“Well, yes!” To both of their surprise, Glauce’s answer came readily and quickly. “I want to travel with them again. I admit I was terrified at first when those Owls chased me. But they intervened and saved me without even second guessing their well-being. They’re both good people, I feel like Erin has blessed me with meeting them.”

Luna gave a distinct laugh that sounded as if she had just heard an amusing joke “The Explorers are an odd bunch. I’ll give them that.”

“What makes you say that?” Glauce wondered if her Grandmother was slipping by her odd behavior. “They shaped Lemuria to what it is now. They united the Capilli, Bolmus, Kategida, Aerostrati, Amara, and the Travelers that already lived here. We have them to thank for that. Their monuments are also a testament to their grandeur.”

“They leave us this amazing world, and then just vanish outright.” Luna gave another scoffing laugh as she hobbled along. “Forgive me child, sometimes I need to let my frustrations with things out. If they were so wise, then where are they now? If the last remaining scriptures are to be believed, then they should be living amongst us right now.” She narrowed her eyes, feeling that her musings were too much for the girl. “Forgive me, there’s just so much in Lemuria that is a mystery to even me, and I have seen my fair share of decades ruling.”

“What mysteries are you talking about?” Glauce subconsciously let her grip tighten on Luna as they walked back into the cool darkness of the Palace. “The Moon Temple, Sun Palace, Ignis Vault, and Erin’s Stronghold along with their statues are all that they left right?”

“At face value maybe, but I feel like there’s something we might not know about. Call it old nerves I guess.” Luna trailed off as her elderly mind wandered aimlessly. She thought about the fact that she had invited two strangers to the event that was reserved for those of the Royal Family and the direct staff who had worked on the project.

The general public of Lemuria would be in the dark until the project had an acceptable reaction from her guests. Perhaps it was for the better. Perhaps it wasn’t.


	12. Fork in the Road

“Well that was certainly something now wasn’t it?” Jake broke the silence as she and Knarl descended down the many switchbacks that led away from the Palace of the Explorers. The two had been quiet for the first few minutes, the farewells to the Princess having left both of them feeling forlorn.  
Knarl adjusted the spear resting against his shoulder for comfort, and gave a snort in response. “Yes, I wasn’t expecting anything grand and I’m happy that the Queen decided to keep it rather low key. The visit was nice. But I can’t help but feel off, especially with everything we’ve learned.”  
“I gather you’re talking about Luna’s… _terrible_ premonitions.” The Capilli hurried along at his lengthy strides. “You really think that your child is going to be the one who will steal one of the three relics? As much as I respect the Queen…” Jake coughed, her voice becoming practically inaudible, “she seems awfully batty.”  
“She might be old Jake, but Queen Luna is wise beyond her years. She wouldn’t have shared her readings with us if she wasn’t worried about Lemuria’s wellbeing.” Knarl took a deep breath; while he appreciated that Jake was trying to make him feel better, the anxiousness of what might possibly happen was gnawing away at him. “Luna has kept Lemuria in a position that, compared to the rest of the world, is unfathomable. All around us countries are burning each other alive in the name of their rulers or their Gods or for simple conquest. We’re lucky to have the dual barrier of the ocean and the magic of this kingdom at our disposal. I’m surprised we haven’t had any would-be knights or supposed heroes knocking on Neireida’s door in the past few years.”  
Jake fell silent at hearing how fired up Knarl had gotten. He was usually quite passive with how he seemed to take every day at a time, but his intensity at thinking of the preservation of his Island and the Kingdom that ruled over it; it was both an impressive and intimidating sight.  
“Jake,” Knarl caught onto the silence that his friend, “it’s alright for you to keep talking. Right now I’d really appreciate it.” The Lindworm flashed a smile. “Now that we’re away from there, I would especially like to know your thoughts on everything that we’ve learned.”  
It was Jake’s turn to fall silent. There was too much consider, and she scrambled internally a little to summarise what they now knew.  
“First thing’s first. The fact that Queen Luna knows the general identity of these supposed Relic Thieves but didn’t really put a face to any of them. How could a premonition be that specific but not point out the most blasted important thing?” Jake’s frustration echoed in the wild gestures of her hands.  
Knarl pondered on this. “You think that whatever greater magic is giving Luna her powers is somehow being vague on purpose?” He did find it odd the more he thought about it that Luna was so adamant that he was to be the potential father of one thief. “Yet I’m there in her vision clear as day. Either that or she was intimidating me to make me take her seriously.”  
“Luna might be a bit batty but she’s a good judge of character. You above all people have always taken things with a serious nature.” Jake played with one of the buckles on her glove. “If she told you what she did, it wouldn’t be so it could get your attention.” She smirked. “If she was going to do that to anyone she might try doing it with me.”  
“You have a point, but what about the other two thieves then?” It felt to him like it was talking an eternity to traverse each switchback. “A Moon Dragon and someone from overseas? I wonder if Lumia and her little entourage will be going to investigate the Cliffs of Erin for any proper suspects.”  
“That would be the best choice of action for the Royals… You know, now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder why Lumia didn’t mention anything about them when I was talking with her in the garden. Maybe she didn’t really have any incentive to trust a Capilli.” Jake huffed.  
“Glauce isn’t immature either. She more than likely would be able to handle whatever news Lumia had to impart from her last run…” Knarl trailed off, ending his sentence with a single hum. He slowed down to a downright stop, his eyes gazing past the forests below and out to the cliffs that were a second barrier against the ocean to the North.   
“Jake?” cried the Lindworm. His voice suddenly sounded like it threatened to break with a seething anger. The Capilli snapped to attention at hearing such a difference in her friend. “Will you help Tethys and I protect our child?”  
“Whoa, Knarl?” Jake scampered up the stairs separating the two of them and lightly punched the Lindworm’s hip. “Knarl, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Come on, it’s going to be alright.”  
“I’m not going to break down, I’m just worried about our child.” He took a deep breath and shook his head, angry at his sudden dive in emotions. “I want to ensure that they’ll have a wonderful life on Nereida Isle and Lemuria.”  
“Maybe someday they’ll see the rest of the world too. It’s not as great as here given things out of our control, but maybe one day it’ll blow over.” Jake put on a softer smile than her trademark cheeky grin. “I promise I won’t teach them any occuli spells until they know better. Last thing we need is a Lindworm that can shoot lightning bolts along with bad breath.”  
There was a heaviness that had been blanketing them for the past half hour ever since their parting with Glauce. Right now, in the new emergent awkward silence, it like it was suffocating. Jake felt an icy touch dance somewhere between her stomach and heart, and her meager smile faded.  
“Sorry… you know that’s just how I always deal with problems.” She withdrew a little and folded her arms. “This is really serious. I’ll save my witty remarks for later.”  
“I truly appreciate everything you do Jake, remember that.” Knarl finally spoke up, his voice stiff but not nearly as faltering as moments before. “We just have different ways of dealing with things. There’s nothing wrong with that.”  
Jake slowly looked back up at the Lindworm as he resumed his trek down the hills. Mouthing a ‘yes’, she followed him mutely for another switchback. She broke her silence with a soft grumble to herself, “What _is_ wrong is the fact that she dumped all of that on you...”  
Knarl, however, easily heard her and interjected, “She could have done it in a different fashion. After all, Glauce was there. While I don’t think the Princess has any ill will in her heart, her naivety could prove to be a problem. I don’t think Queen Luna wants to have this shared with anyone directly outside of us two and the Royal Family.” Knarl pondered over what the little Princess was doing now that they were on their way. “I hate to say this, but Umbra may be hiding something.”  
“Either that or she has an Altitudo Tree shoved up her-“  
“Jake-!”  
The Capilli’s nervousness gave way to raucous laughter with her spontaneous joke. She calmed herself and rubbed her cheeks as tears formed in her eyes from her familiar joyous state.  
“You have to admit that was a good one Knarl.” Jake hunched her shoulders while keeping her comforting grin. “Joking aside, yeah, Umbra is practically a black sheep in that castle. Everyone else is so welcoming if not a little awkward, and that lady’s stiffer than a stiff in a cemetery.”  
“While that is a rather upfront comparison, I have to agree. No wonder Glauce was so meek all the time back in Nereida Isle, given that she has to put up with that every day.” Knarl couldn’t imagine being that cold to a child, much less his own. “But Luna trusts her. Maybe because they're related, or from knowing her character better than us, I’m not sure.”  
“Yeah, I guess there’s that too.” Jake looked down to the town beneath them which seemed to resist getting closer no matter how much they walked. “Either way, we have to figure out a plan for coming back here some day, I hate to leave Glauce alone by herself… even if she’s not really alone.”  
Knarl raised an eyebrow and refrained from smirking. He didn’t pursue the topic, but the sharp Lindworm had a very good hunch what Jake was really mulling on about.  
“You’re absolutely right though. I’m sure once we’re ready to travel again that our child could even accompany us.” The more he thought about the future and less about Luna’s vision, the more Knarl’s nerves started to relax  
“Glauce would love that. Then again I think just seeing the two of us would brighten her day - she might faint from happiness if she got to see your little one.” Jake rested her arms behind her head as they made leeway. “You think Tethys would be up for traveling though? She never seems really inclined to want to leave the island these past few years.”  
“Despite me being Chief, she also has a lot of say in the politics of Nereida Island. She wants to keep it protected." The Lindworm recalled how much the others respected the two of them as the higher ups of the island. While Chief was more of a title for the spearhead Lindworm who was deemed the strongest and most resilient, his partner was seen in a similar light. “I think that’s one of the reasons she took a bit to warm up to Glauce even though she meant no harm.”  
“Does she distrust the Royal Family? I know they sometimes keep to themselves but they always make public appearances, and Luna until recently traveled with Lumia to check on the other cities here in Lemuria.”  
“Don’t forget Jake. Unlike Lemuria, Nereida Isle is on the cusp of the border between this Kingdom and the mainland. We’re more prone to antagonistic outsiders than anyone else here.” As far as he knew, Knarl hadn’t directly dealt with any invaders, but that didn’t stop fear mongering from rooting in the minds of even the Lindworms. While they were not the frail non-magic humans that populated the majority of Europe, that didn't give them a free pass to crush any outsider wandering their way. If they readily struck down anyone who threatened them they knew the rest of the world would paint them out to be vicious monsters. Maybe that’s why over the past few decades they all were compliant with remaining in their human forms. Over the considerable span of his life, Knarl couldn't recall a day when he took up his human guise more often than his true one until the past few months. The overall idea scratched at the core of his being.   
“Gosh you sure are being quiet despite your turn around earlier.” Jake puckered her lips.  
“Just thinking is all. There’s quite a lot to think about now isn’t there?” Knarl shifted his spear again, letting it rest better against his shoulder. “I don’t want to say that these are dire times, but they are certainly interesting times. Who knows what’s in store for this Kingdom.”  
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I mean, we obviously can’t be complacent and think that our lands are impervious to other countries, but holing ourselves up in our homes won’t do us any good.” Jake slapped her hands together as a way to prove her point. “Whatever happens though, you should know that you got me to protect you.”  
“I feel safe already.” There was no hint of sarcasm in Knarl's reply. “Come on, let’s pick up the pace. We’re moving so slowly, it feels like Central City might be creeping away from us.”  
“Alright alright, you’re on!” Jake cracked her shoulders promptly before running down the next switchback. Knarl followed in tandem and the two matched each other’s pace as they finished their long journey down the mountain spire. “You know, the least they could have down was flown us down this mountain.”  
“We really can’t go back and ask them to do that now though can we?”

A long hour later, the two had arrived on the outskirts of Central City. The Sun was now just peeking over the mountains that made up the Cliffs of Erin, speckling the landscape with patches of light. The city was already bustling with activity, and vendors and eateries were packed with both locals and pilgrims. There was a curious aroma that filled the air, likely from someone from the countries to the south showing off their own cuisine.  
Smelling the spices made Jake’s mouth water. Aside from gold and occuli, food was certainly next in line to be her downfall. While she wasn’t more portly than her already stocky Capilli brethren, one noticeable feature she had was her round cheeks which made her appear on the whole more plump. Enjoying yourself whenever you get the chance was a mantra she always lived by; whether or not it got her into hot water was a completely different story.  
Knarl on the other hand squinted and pursed his lips at the smell. “What’s the point really?” he spoke low as to not offend anyone. “Spicing something up to the point where you’re overwhelmed by the single spice, and not the actual medley of flavors of whatever you cooked?”  
“It’s not so much to the point that it’s overwhelming everything else except your nose, really.” Jake dismissed his disdain.“Trust me, this stuff marries flavors excellently. Better than everything further North from what I’ve heard though.”  
“Yes, blandness is even worse.” Knarl found the overwhelming smell almost welcoming now. “I daresay that Nereida is quite lucky in our cuisine. As isolated as we are from the mainland’s bountiful ingredients, we’d still hold our own if it came to a taste battle.”  
Jake nodded, digging around in one of her pockets to fish out some coins. “Now that I think about it, Honey Seeds could really blend well with whatever that guy’s cooking.”  
“Jake, we need to get home. While I welcome a bit of food to keep us going for the trip ahead of us, I don’t want to sit down and start some kind of culinary experiment.” Knarl wondered if the bustling city atmosphere was getting to Jakes head.  
“Don’t you worry, waiting won’t even be a problem. These kinds of people want you to impulse buy; they’ve got their food piping hot and ready for purchase. Just wait, I’ll be back in a lick.” She winked and ran off ahead before Knarl could further object. The Lindworm surrendered to his fate and waited patiently for his friend to return. Around him, the town moved with such fluidity that one could liken merchants and customers to trees idly blowing in the wind.  
“What did I tell you Knarl?” Knarl looked up to see Jake, back after no time at all. Each of her hands held a pair of steaming meat buns. “Yeah these things are kinda bulky though, mind if you took these two?” She animatedly held up one buckled glove.  
The outside pastry was white with a rich yellow and orange mottled hue. The smell that Knarl had found disagreeable was stronger than ever, but he wanted to at least humor Jake and being the friend he was, he took the two buns without hesitation.  
“Eat up while they’re hot. Nothing’s worse than cold food.” Jake continued to usher her friend along as Knarl tried to both shoulder his spear and keep the foodstuffs in his other hand without dropping either bun.  
“I would love to actually try them if you gave me some breathing room.” Despite being jostled by the Capilli, Knarl had a carefree grin. “I said I was in a hurry, but I rather not trip and swallow my spear instead.”  
“I don’t think you could really mix up your spear with a meat bun.” Jake dismissed her companion’s banter but eased up a little to give him a moment to compose himself.  
Knarl didn’t even wait and finding an opportunity, took a whopping bite from one of the two pastries. The meat was rather rich in spices, but like Jake had said, they married into a myriad mix of tastes that was absolutely divine. While he still preferred the fish of Nereida Isle, the melting pork filling was a welcome pick-me-up for the road. He downed the rest of the bun and bounced the other one in his hand.  
“Hmm, not the absolute best. But decent enough.”  
“Oh stop being so picky,” Jake retorted before chowing down on one of the buns she had. “Nothing will ever be as good to you as it is back on the island. Not like I can blame you.” She covered her mouth as she was sending flecks of pastry everywhere. “There’s something about how things grow on that sliver of land that just makes everything there taste phenomenal. Even the Honey Seeds have more of a crackle and smell to them there.”  
“You carry so many herbs on you that I still find myself wondering if your sense of smell hasn’t been completely shot.” Knarl started to relax a bit more. Having food in his system helped get rid of at least one of the feelings gnawing at him - in this case, hunger. “I should learn to stop second guessing you.”  
“The only lesson you haven’t learned from all the years we’ve been friends is that I’m always right.” Jake took a bite out of the other meat bun and shrugged. “I find no fault with all your doubting though. You’re just stubborn.” The Capilli winked as she spoke with her mouth half full.  
“Tethys would say otherwise, given half the little adventures we have to save you from even on Nereida Isle.” Knarl finished his first bun but waited on starting the other. “To be honest you’re only getting more daring with age.”  
“I’m not going to live my life being dull.” She walked ahead of him and turned around as she did so - foolish or confident enough to walk backwards, Knarl wasn’t sure. “If anything, I’m going to live my life as explosively and eventfully as any of the mainland’s wars. Without you know, the death and stuff.”  
“People are going to start staring at you if you keep this up.” Knarl raised an eyebrow, “I concede to our little banter. Now then, you ought to turn around.”  
For once, Jake listened and stopped backing up abruptly. With one last step she looked over her shoulder. Miraculously she hadn’t had bumped into anyone given how busy the streets were. A horse galloped by and a wayward pilgrim stumbled after it shouting expletives that would have made Glauce die of embarrassment. Jake’s eyes widened and she looked back to her Lindworm companion.  
“A few more steps and that could have been you Jake.”  
“But it wasn’t.”  
“Still Jake, don’t push your luck.” Knarl looked from her to the rest of the bun he had only half finished. Shrugging he shoved the rest in his mouth and gulped it down as Jake got her bearings. “We’re lucky this little trip to the Palace of Explorers went as it did - certainly the escort from Umbra could have been a little more welcoming, and Luna’s way of breaking the ice is something to be desired.” He rolled his shoulder that held his spear and heard several bones pop. “I’m not past my prime but I’m not spry like I used to be.”  
“So what’s a bit of weathering? You’ve aged well to me.” Jake resumed walking and soon the two of them were amid the outskirts of the main street. “I mean look at me, still the same height-challenged rotund ranger I’ve always been.” She put her hands behind her head and looked over her shoulder to the Lindworm. “Least you have a family now. You’ve got that over your best friend.”  
Knarl heard no trace of sarcasm or envy in Jake’s voice, but still found it odd that she had trailed the conversation into something like that. Diverting his attention from where Jake was, he looked out to the open plains that surrounded Central City. Surrounding them was Mathildis Forest, and the nearly impassable Tree of Thorns with its massive roots was visible amongst the canopies to the east. Still the Altitudo towered around them like pillars from a great temple. One could almost wonder if they kept someone aloft within the sky.  
“I take it you’re looking at the Tree of Thorns, Jake?” It was his only guess. From the day they met, Jake had never been very forthcoming when it came to talk about families, much less about her own. While Knarl had traveled to Central City a handful of times, the Capilli Village was somewhere he had yet to venture. Along with family, the Tree was also a topic Jake only mentioned in throwaway comments. It was clear she had lived there at some point, but her standing with the rest of her tribe was always something of a mystery.  
Knarl knew he had no business prying at things like that, especially with Jake. But something felt rather off with how she was behaving ever since they had left the Palace. Knarl didn’t want Jake to slip off into an episode of aloofness.  
“Yeah,” the Capilli finally replied. The bustle of the town was starting to die off now that they were now outside the guard walls. “I really can’t think of the last time I’ve seen it close up. Never really had a reason to go out that way when you can just blaze a trail through the rest of the forest.”  
“Your hometown is out that way isn’t it?” Knarl took a deep breath and the crisp air invigorated him. It gave him newfound determination to converse while they started their long journey home. “Nestled amongst the roots of that big thing.”  
“Yup, lot of them figured that such a big tree was grown from a place with fertile soil. They weren’t wrong. They still grow some of the best herbs and foodstuffs here in Lemuria. Especially the mint, although I usually make do just grabbing it wherever I find it.” Having finished her makeshift breakfast Jake dug into one of her glove pockets to fetch some of the cold herb. “Some day I should make a spell to have the stuff grow on my satchels.”  
“I’m not quite sure that Occuli can really do that.” Knarl laughed at the image. “Besides, your Tribe Members are quite the botanists themselves.”  
“Only when it comes to growing the perfect mint or grain for beer.” At that very mention, Jake realized that in their hurry to leave the city, they had forgotten to also buy refreshments other than their water supply for the road. She grumbled knowing that she’d be irritable without coffee. On the other hand, she knew she wouldn’t have to put up with Knarl teasing her about “bean water” for the time being. “Other than that we just stick to studying Occuli and harnessing the magic from inside it.”  
“Also, isn’t it true that depending on what metal that Occuli is faceted into, it can change its magical properties?” Knarl reminded himself of the pearl that he had adorned his spear with. Unlike Occuli-infused weapons, his was simply a decoration. “Have you ever discovered the reason for that?”  
Jake had never really thought about it. After all, she had always used the magic drawn deep from the stones directly as her source of power against threats. Save for a knife she carried with her for foraging, the Ranger carried no outright weapons.  
“No, not really yet. I guess it’s just the metal that can augment the magic, although as to why it happens, I don’t have a clue. That’s why I just have my occuli on steel charms so I don’t have to worry about these things deciding they suddenly want to cast a different spell.” She held up an arm and rocked it in place so that the visible charms gleamed in the morning sun, “Uh, that and it doesn’t rust as fast as iron. I’m not sure what happens if an occuli is used in a rusty facet.”  
“Maybe we should try it out sometime.”  
“Yeah, but with like, a shard or something. No telling what could happen if I used one of my brilliant stones like that.” Jake lowered her arm and her expression darkened for a split second. “But enough of that, we’ve still got a long ways to go.”  
Knarl agreed. Their casual loping shifted into more of a brisk jog. They passed by several Pilgrims both on horse and foot, who were travelling to both Central City and the Strongholds of the Explorers. While Lemuria wasn’t as heavily populated as the mainland, there was a sense of “life” within the Kingdom that wasn’t found anywhere else.  
Lemuria had its own share of problems sure; bandits and fantastic beasts were always somewhere off the beaten path. Lumia’s forces of Kategida and Paladin Travelers were always dispatched somewhere in the Kingdom fighting back ne’er do wells and monsters. Then again, the rare foolish vagabond or beast was the lesser of two evils compared to the constant wars and accusations on the mainland. There, Jake had heard there was also talk of supposed “witch hunts” of people who used magic, condemning them to jail, or even worse.  
That wasn’t to say that crime was without punishment in Lemuria either. Lumia was not only the captain of the forces dispatched for justice and order; she was the final say for anything once Queen Luna would give her approval. The worst thing that could happen to anyone was banishment from the Kingdom, which was done first by confiscating all occuli or other magical artifacts and sending the guilty party through an enchanted mirror that would send them to the far reaches of Earth. There the banished could either make a new life for themselves or succumb to the forces of nature and mainland humanity’s cruelty.  
It was rather a grim answer, but Luna knew that constant executions would be a morale-killer across her land, so rather than relying on that, simple incarceration or banishment is what any villain would face instead. Since Banishments were the most extreme punishment they were extremely rare as well, the last one happening over a decade ago after a Traveller defaced part of Erin’s stronghold and killed several pilgrims who were using it as a shelter from heavy rain. The news had spread like wildfire when a Moon Dragon happened upon the massacre with the perp still at the scene.  
The Moon Dragons were not only known for their amazing magical skills, but also their deftness at flying. Their absence to the East over the Cliffs of Erin was starting to go noticed by the more mobile Lemurians.  
In fact, Jake’s mind had wandered onto the subject of said dragons. Keeping herself occupied in her thoughts, she wondered just why it was that Lumia had taken Crepusculum with her, and not simply left her in the charge of another Moon Dragon if something had happened at the Cliffs. If the Dragons thought that something was amiss, why didn’t one of the adults decide to roost at the Palace of Explorers, rather than just sending a pup who couldn’t even speak?  
“Jake, you’re slowing down. Something else on your mind?” Knarl saw that the Capilli had not only had slowed her pace, but had been gazing back at Tree of Thorns all this while.  
“Oh uh, yeah I’m good. Just thinking about all that stuff we learned in the Palace and everything.” She let out an audible “hmmm” and put her hands on her hips. Her brow furrowed in such a way that Knarl thought her eyes were about to get lost against her bushy eyebrows. “You know, I hate to do this Knarl, but I think I need to break away for a bit and do a little bit of digging in Lemuria. Not literally, but you catch my drift.”  
Knarl was taken aback at the sudden choice that Jake had made. Surely she was just overthinking things, but the more he mulled over it, he felt the same way he had when he was left musing alone in his room back at the Palace.  
“You think something is going on that we’re in the dark about, is that it?” Knarl too looked out to the Tree of Thorns. The tremendous branches were so big that they could be seen swaying in the wind even from where they stood. Patches of sky shone down through the low clouds and in turn made the perpetual autumn colors of the Tree billow in a way that looked like a kindling fire.  
“Looks rather ominous from here doesn’t it?” Jake yawned. “To this day I can’t figure out why the Capilli decided to stake their town in the shadow of its roots.”  
“Everyone has their reasons, I’m sure that your Elders had theirs.” Knarl watched her take a few steps in the direction of the behemoth. “I won’t try to change your mind, but know that I will be heading back to Nereida without delay. You can come back to the island at any time you please.”  
“Thanks Knarl.” Jake nodded and adjusted her sleeves, “I think I’ll hit up my Hometown first; who knows what I might find there, before heading out to the Cliffs.”  
“You’ll be going all the way there too? That’s practically on the opposite end of Lemuria.” Knarl was a little taken aback that Jake had such a concrete plan. Whatever she was preparing herself for, she was definitely going to stick to her guns at this point. “That will be quite some ground to cover. By the time you visit you’ll have to deal with a little hatchling nipping at your knees.”  
“I think that will be a great thing to come back to.” Jake put on a smile and gave the Lindworm a thumbs up. “But I think this is where I’ll take my leave for now. Safe travels back to Nereida Isle now, you hear?”  
“And may you have a protected journey to the Cliffs of Erin. I’m not sure what you’ll find there, but I’m sure you’ll find all the answers we will need for the future.” Knarl lifted his spear in parting gesture and continued down the path. He knew better than to look back; Jake was bound to make some ridiculous face if he did. Besides, he had faith that she would return safe and sound.

Jake watched her friend’s shape grow farther from her bit by bit. Soon he dipped out of view for a moment and was lost amongst the reeds that ebbed in the breeze. The Capilli took a deep breath and marched forward on her own path towards the home she had left ages ago.  
She wasn’t sure what answers would be waiting for her either.


	13. An Adventure Alone

It was a good few hours of silence as Jake walked alone. The plains around her gave way into marshland, signaling that she was getting close to the woody areas beneath the Tree of Thorns. Looking up to the sky, she shielded her eyes—despite the clouds, the sun’s rays were strong enough to cause a glare.  
Judging by the sun’s position above her, she still had a good seven hours of traversable light ahead. That meant she only had an hour worth of resting if she grew tired. That part was manageable. It was more of a matter of whether she would stumble across anyone in her path with precious cargo requiring her “help”… _that_ would definitely slow her down. Jake quickly realized that she would have to forgo pilfering from any hapless pilgrims if she wanted to get to her hometown before dark.  
There was also that possibility of running into monsters as well. While it wasn’t something that worried her as much, it was obnoxious to think about the possibility of relentless pursuers, like the Owls that had chased Glauce, residing in these wilds. Last time, Jake had Knarl with her to scare off the rest of the flock; she was certain that she wouldn’t be able to deter the dark beasts by her lonesome self.  
“Just my luck to only think about all this now,” Jake muttered aloud. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea…” The marshland grew denser around her. Looking to the east, the gargantuan statue of Mathildis rose out of the forest around her. Jake wondered why the Explorers had bothered to construct such statues, but she did forgive them for the fact that they were wonderful landmarks while venturing through Lemuria.  
The hazy clouds above her slowly grew thicker throughout the day. Soon, a misty drizzle picked up, spitting about the lone Capilli. The sounds of frogs croaking and dragonflies whistling through the air soon saturated the air around her. _Wonderful, just what I needed_ , she thought: a boggy cold to put up with even after clearing the marsh. Jake was careful to tread only on firm ground. Whenever she doubted if the next patch of green could hold her, she flung a nearby piece of rock to see whether it bounced or skidded to a sticky halt.  
While there wasn’t the danger of quicksand or peat mires in this particular stretch of land, to get one’s clothes drenched with no settlements readily near would definitely be a health concern. She looked over her shoulder and spotted a few makeshift buildings over on the far end of the marsh; small feeble lights glinted from within. Some poor saps had decided to call this place home, but they were in the other direction, which would only mean more time wasted should a mishap send her for a dip in the bog. To avoid that outcome, Jake would need to take her time.  
A few careful steps and rock throws later, Jake had made her way out of the marshlands and now into the darker woods that made up the outer part of Mathildis Forest. Here the trees grew so close together that it could have been nighttime and Jake would have been none the wiser. In this constant state of darkness, however, were several wish branch plants that were growing on the sides of the path, brightening up only the areas directly around them. Amongst the thicker trees, bright yellow and orange fruits also glowed with a barely audible hum. Taking a hint from the flora around her, Jake allowed her angler light to emit a soft glow as well. It was enough light to show where she could go without snagging a leg on a branch or other obstacle, but soft enough so that she wouldn’t warrant most of the attention of the forest wildlife.  
It was quieter within the forest. The only sounds were the gentle clinking of her charms and the threading of her boots along the ground beneath. Given how the air was chilly and the the dirt of the walking trail compacted, it seemed that it had rained here earlier in the past day. Huffing, Jake took a bandana from one of her bags and tied it around the lower part of her face to make a quick barrier from the cold. Her nose didn’t provide the best hold and the fabric slipped often as she trekked onward. If Knarl were there he would have had quite the chuckle.  
She didn’t hate the cold, but the idea of catching sickness was something that she dreaded. Bedridden downtime meant no work, whether it be Occuli crafting, exploring, or swindling. Even in her faithful trip to Nereida Isle earlier that had brought her and Glance together, Jake still took whatever free time she had to further tumble and craft the magical stones she had decorating her gear. As such, while having to regularly pull up the mask was an annoyance, it seemed a small, temporary price to pay for staving off illness.  
Jake couldn’t help but muse morbidly on how, although illness was a pain wherever you were, at least the cures and tonics in Lemuria were reliable; coming down with sickness on the mainland was practically a death sentence. She had heard some Pilgrims call it the Black Death, although unlike a “punishment” brought down upon some divine being, many Lemurians and Kingdoms farther to the East deduced that it had come from the terrible hygiene of populace, giving rise to bugs and other cretin-like creatures often associated with disease. The actual “science” around it fascinated Jake, and it gave her something to think about as she walked.  
The more she thought about it, she realized that it was probably only the mint on her clothes that kept her from smelling like absolute garbage given how far she had walked today. A warm bath was definitely in order once she got to the village. That was, if someone hadn’t already taken it upon themselves to move in in her long absence.  
The sudden realization of that possibility that was true made the Capilli give out a very audible groan. For a fleeting moment she cared not if any monsters or beasts heard her; the predicament playing in her mind caused her to stop in her tracks. It had been quite awhile since she actually had lived in her house, and longer still since she’d shown her face around the village.  
It wasn’t that she had any bad blood with any of her fellow Capilli, nor did she hate their company. She just felt… different, compared to the others. While most were huddled over their research or mildly tending to their livestock or herbal gardens, Jake ventured out into the Lemurian countryside and was even gutsy enough to travel to the mainland. Jake was known in the village as someone who spoke their mind and was, quite frankly, loud. The “chief” of their tribe Avo was extremely displeased whenever she had something to say, in contrast to the indifference the others had for her. She recalled one of the last times she had visited had been pretty laid back save for how the mossy hued Chief would berate her for her messy upkeep and unorthodox choice of fashion. Many Capilli wore traditional robes and loosely fitted garments with an absence of footwear. To say that Jake’s ensemble of pants, belts, buckles, boots, and gloves made her stick out like a sore thumb was an understatement.  
Well, the possibility of being houseless made her more determined to reach her village before nightfall. She pressed on and allowed her angler light to dim as she adjusted to the dark around her. To the naked eye be it friend or foe, she was practically invisible now. Trying to get out of her grumpy mood Jake lightly hummed to herself; the humming of the glowing fruits around her seemed to resonate with whatever she aimlessly sung in her head.  
The darkness around her slowly receded and the autumn leaves of the tree of thorns could be seen through the still dense canopies. It was a reassuring sign to the ranger as she quickened her pace.  
_Thud._  
Jake didn’t even second-guess what she had heard. It sounded as if something tremendously heavy had hit the ground nearby with a dead impact. The Capilli pressed herself against a tree and waited in hushed silence, taking care to outright extinguish her antenna light.  
Another thud sounded out, this one heavier than the last, and then another. Almost like footsteps with how they were evenly spaced apart. Jake could practically feel her ears twitch as she desperately tried to listen for any other sounds that could identify what their source was.  
“Sending only one of us was a mistake. What is Lumia thinking?” A gruff and nearly animalistic voice murmured in the darkness. The footsteps began to distance themselves from where Jake stood hidden. The sound of something being dragged was now evident. Taking a chance, Jake left her hiding spot to see if her suspicions about the speaker were true.  
A hulking shape of a Kategida emerged from gloom. He was dragging along a large sack that had the Sun Relic painted crudely on it. Effortlessly, he swung the sack around so it landed with a resonating thud in front of him. Judging by his bulk and the horns that peeked over his furry mane, it was one of the more respected Kategida; the bag was evidence that he had ties to Lumia’s troop, as was his name-dropping of her earlier.  
Delicately, the warrior took a piece of jerky from the bag and gnawed on it. It seemed for now he was more content to satisfy his hunger rather than bellyache over whatever task had been given to him. Jake watched him for a few agonizingly long minutes, straining to catch clues as to why he was here. All she got was a few grumbles and a yawn as he finished his snack.  
Seeing him put his claws on the ground to support his weight, Jake hurried back into the darkness as the Kategida Scout rose to his feet. He brushed himself off and swung his bag over his shoulder in one fluid motion. Jake swallowed. Judging by how much heavier the bag looked than her, the Capilli grimly mused about how easily he would be able to toss her about, or worse, should she be caught and suspected of something foul. After looking around around attentively for a few moments more however, the great warrior straightened up and lumbered off, his heavy, familiar footsteps ringing out as he walked off the forest path.  
Jake was perplexed. Scouts usually traveled in groups and to see a lone Kategida was unique. He was probably on a special task set by Lumia or the Royal Family in general. But the more Jake thought about it, whatever called for a single scout would have to be something that the Royals wanted to especially keep on the hush-hush. She wondered if she should forsake returning back to her home and instead trail after the Kategida. He could be going to anywhere in Lemuria though, judging by his traveling bag he was stocked with enough goods to keep him supplied for over a week. Meanwhile, the Capilli Village was only a few hours away and a definite destination rather than the mysterious outcome with the white furred beast. Home it was then, Jake concluded. She would have to recount what she saw to Knarl sometime in the future though. It seemed his hunch about some grander scheme in Lemuria unfolding was right.  
Jake stood waiting for a minute, making sure that the Kategida was far enough to be out of earshot before continuing. Feeling an anxious tickling in her gut, she adjusted some of the Occuli on her wrist straps so she could readily use them at a moment’s notice. She had been so lost in thought that the heavy thuds of the Kategida had caught her by surprise. Jake hated to think of what could have happened if she had been tracked by something more outright malicious or predatory. Now was the time to focus; the more her mind teetered around with needless musings, the more open to an ambush or slowing of her walk would happen. Jake needed to do what she always prided on doing best—being a self titled ranger. Tightening her belts Jake quickened her pace to make up for the lost time dealing with the scout.  
The trees began to disperse, the orange hues of a sunset spilling in through the branches. Jake spent no time admiring the colors, her mind set on her next obstacle—navigating the roots of the Tree of Thorns. The aptly named tree was not as tall as an Altitudo, but its sheer size was just as awe-inspiring. Vermilion leaves of an eternally Autumnal gilding graced the many branches of the mega-flora. The trunk of the tree spanned an area comparable to a sizable town, and the roots that sprawled out in a viridian eruption as they twisted into the earth and over each other chaotically.  
The roots were wide enough to safely walk upon, but every good few feet a vicious plethora of thorns sprawled across the cavern between each root. To fall into them was certain death, and there were many places where previous travellers had hacked at the thorns to make a sad attempt at a safe passage. The steady stench of decayed flesh and organs creeping from below seemed to suggest that it wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan. All the same she was grateful that she still hand her bandana-mask; if the smell was this bad through fabric she didn’t even want to think about how awful it was without a buffer.  
Jake weaved on around the countless thorns until she reached an grounded area amongst the gnarled roots. The soil here was excessively dry and nearly without nutrients—it smelled parched of life, and almost as bad as the carrion-ridden thorns she had passed earlier. The Tree had sucked every sliver of mineral out of the ground to support its colossal size. Strangely enough, aside from its massive appetite for earthy nutrients, this great behemoth of a plant was not malignant at all. The roots of the tree seemed all too happy to stay right where they were. In her lifetime they had never grown past the outskirts of the Capilli Village. Despite its foreboding exterior, it was a welcome sight to most Capilli, providing a landmark to pinpoint their town with from practically anywhere within the main Lemurian continent. At least traveling amongst the roots and horrid ground meant her journey would soon be at an end—as soon as she was past the tree, she was practically a jump away from the village.  
Looking up at the sky she could see the sun dancing atop the horizon of trees around her; still a couple of hours to go before nightfall. She was making good headway past the thorns of the roots. It did bother her a little that while crossing the perils of the tree, she hadn’t seen a single living being save for herself. The Tree of Thorns was notorious for not just its namesake thorns but also for housing many savage monsters. Griffons, despite their similarities to the draconic beasts like Moon Dragons or Lindworms that lived in Lemuria, were as wild and wary to the human-form races as the bears and wolves that lived upon the European mainland. There were also spiders of quite an unusual size that loved to roost within the crevasses of the roots. They were not exclusive to the Tree of Thorns, as many freakishly large spiders made their home in Lemuria, but due to the cover of the great tree’s bristles and hollows—as well as the steady stream of prey provided by the foot traffic— they were quite infamous here. The Griffons were at least always loud with their squawks and screeches, and their wing flaps gave away their positions well before they were seen. The spiders on the other hand were just as silent as their common smaller brethren, and would prove dangerous to even a skilled magic user like Jake.  
Thankfully, up until now the roots that she was walking on had been out in the open; if a spider was waiting for an ambush it would have already been plucked away by an irritable Griffon or a Roc. Ugh, she thought, Rocs are just as bad. While they certainly weren’t as fatal an encounter as the other monsters, the green hued birds’ great talons and wingspan put her at quite disadvantage with her diminutive size. Needless to say, the task of crossing the Tree of Thorns was quite the gauntlet, especially for someone of Jake’s smallness. Sometimes she wondered how her tribesmen were able to even function sometimes knowing that a place that housed a bunch of oversized monsters was practically at their front porch. Were they really content to stay behind the town’s natural walls and rarely ever venture out? Didn’t they ever just get curious about the world as she did. She waved the questions from her mind and took a deep breath. Now was the time to focus once again, as now she was going to enter the central a tangle of roots leading towards home, and that meant a much greater threat of lurking arachnids safely tucked in the darkness away from their great avian predators’ gaze.  
Jake took a blue Occuli charm off her glove bracer and held it at her side as she walked. Her main form of attack would be immobilization through icy magic, as the last she thing she wanted to go was to cause an inferno with fire or lightning.  
She ducked down under a low hanging root and put her hand up to the cold damp wood. The shadowy areas were still waterlogged and slightly gave under her fee from the earlier rain. That only increased the likelihood that spiders and other critters were nearby. The Capilli huffed and withdrew her hand from the bark. Even though she wore gloves the almost fleshy give of the surface was enough to make her skin crawl.  
“Ugh!” Jake exclaimed aloud in frustration and took a sharp breath. She knew that going around the tree would take nearly a day so pushing forward like she was was indeed the better option, but it still was exasperating. Jake was partially relieved that neither Knarl nor Glauce was with her to have seen her little outburst.  
Silently she pushed on, keeping an eye out for any sudden movement from the corners of her eye or for anything above her. Her angler light consciously suppressed again, as if left unchecked it glowed a bit too brightly in the shadows of the great tree. There had been many times where she had considered just cutting off the stupid thing that dangled over her head like a carrot on a stick held for a horse. She had expressed her frustration once to Knarl and his answer was to not do it. Sure it proved to be a hassle sometimes, but he said that her angler light was most definitely part of what made her, her. She remembered fuming and sitting down without a word in defiance for a good few hours after that. But she had come around. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she ended up seeing things from her friend’s perspective—Knarl seemed to have a knack for getting to her likethat—and ultimately she realized indeed that the stupid light that bobbled ahead of her something integral to her identity.  
The lights of the Capilli were usually simple luminescent bulbs, but it was customary to adorn and personalize them with a few bric a brac or little floral vines. She recalled Avo having adorned gold leaf to his own light, and snorted at the pompousness of the image. Of course, she had three rough occuli tied to where her light was. They were simple little bits of onyx that she had found pleasing and to her knowledge they were void of any real magical properties; much different than the vibrant celestial blue sapphire that resonated in her hand.  
“Alright, let’s just have you all stay far away from me,” Jake muttered into the murk at any would-be hunters watching her, as she let the magic in her palm charge briskly, “and let me have a very uneventful trip for once in my life.” If this had been any other journey she would have welcomed the opportunity to pry a few fangs off of some dead spiders for trade bait later in Central City, but she needed to scourge up some things at her home and immediately set off after a brisk rest to the Cliffs of Erin to see what the Moon Dragons were up to.  
Either the spiders had decided to humble her, or Jake’s luck was in her favor, as she crossed paths with not a single arachnid. There had been a few close calls where she had heard the flapping of feathery wings, but taking shelter in the shadow of overhead roots was enough to keep her one step ahead of a prowling griffon or roc.

Jake pressed on and soon her path began to descend. The roots also stopped being so saturated and close together which meant that she would be out in the open more, but it also meant that there would be less hiding places for any monsters. She had been lucky enough so far, and she felt like her luck would wane as soon as her traverse across the tree was coming to an end. Thankfully, her fears were not realized and the soft squelch of damp earth was heard as she touched down on soil again.  
The Capilli Village wasn’t too far off from where she was; taking in her bearings Jake could barely make the tops of shingle roofed buildings in the thick forest ahead. Smoke from the chimneys wouldn’t give way until later in the afternoon and the shade of the Tree of Thorns would cast the village into an odd state of chilliness.  
Then Jake smelled it.  
It was a cold scent, a familiar one, one that she kept within every available free pocket she had. A telltale aroma of mint that was so strong and so fresh that just taking a deep breath caused the hair on the back of her neck to prickle. It had been a long time since she had smelled mint of this quality, and the fact that she couldn’t even see the town yet meant that while she had been gone her tribe had somehow managed to cultivate an even better plant.  
Jake didn’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed. Half of reason was for the fact that they had managed to improve something they had already thought perfected, the other half was that she hadn’t been involved in the creation of the new plant. Then again, she had her reasons for her extended periods of absence. The memory of that day started to resurface to her disdain.


End file.
